


Digital Dungeons Vol 2

by DigiConjurer



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri., プリキュア | PreCure | Pretty Cure Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, M/M, Multi, Orcs, Original Character(s), Succubi & Incubi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: Having conquered the skyscrapers of Malibu and the Artisan, our heroes' attention turns back home. There, threats new and old await to steal away their victory. But with their digimon and new allies, can they make it through?
Relationships: Blaze/Dave, Maddie/Ella, Yvonne Kirjaw/Marulyn Gold
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 69: Catching up with Criasu

I don’t own digimon.

* * *

To say that DM was used to visitors… was an understatement. Between the rubble littering the ocean skyscraper (literally, in this case) and all the frozen dead bodies, some things had fallen by the wayside. Okay, a lot of things. Some the result of events beyond both my understanding and a lack of knowledge of this world. Others, the result of decisions made without the proper foresight. The rest, a mix of both.

_ Oh my. I’m surprised you’re not facing your demons back in that Aldia place. What business do you ha- Stop chewing on those wires! The last thing I need is you getting electrocuted. _

Rantha looked about the room, Carinamon trying his best to not get in the way of his partner’s vision. This better be the last thing before you join back up with everyone else.

"That's the plan at least." Rantha remarked and gave Carinamon a pet. Then it’s right back to staring down this dark hallway. Bodies in labcoats lined both sides, frozen in time for all of eternity. A couple looked to have made an attempt at going out on their own terms. Can't really say they were successful on that front. If at all. Though, they had to know this was a possibility when they signed up for this job. Some kind of small blurb of text, maybe brought up in the interview or training…. Something that makes it clear to the employee that there’s a small chance of the world ending by way of freezing time and all the consequences that come with such a violation of the natural order.

"And your job somehow did?" Carinamon countered, gingerly poking a body with a claw. No response. Just like all the other bodies encountered outside of here. Just don't pull too hard. Bubbles found that out the hard way when clearing that tower of yours.

As for your question, the topic of the academy blowing up along with the rest of the world/s was given its own class. Ranging from simple mistakes in spells and potions to full-on plots to end life as we (the students of the Astral Academy at least) know it. Pretty informative. Speaking of, would you like an update on how things are going in Aldia?

Rantha’s gaze shot up to the ceiling, a nod coming right after. Understood. To start off with, even though only a couple of days have passed on this side, it's been a couple of months for Aldia.

"That's impossible." Rantha remarked and looked to his partner. Carinamon shrugged and pulled his claws away from the body he was poking. 

_ Wait. It's been that long? Good to know. If I had to take a guess, it probably has something to do with the dungeon itself. Bringing forth the tower, mountains and all that junk need to come from somewhere. _

But where exactly? That would imply someone knew that Kollmon would eventually nd up there in the first place. Unless Cassandra let her go purposefully. Who would have contacted her to facilitate such a trade-off in the first place. And for what? 

“Perhaps the understanding that their sacrifice might lead to a better future.” Rantha muttered, passing through the doorway and into the next room. “Last night, I found myself reliving a conversation. I’m not sure who I had it with back then (probably some fake spouse, but who can say), but they claimed that sometimes a hero might never get to see the outcome of his actions. That knowing their efforts made a difference was all that mattered in the grand schemes.”

I can see that. Even if that is a very gloomy take on this. DM, are there any entities that could’ve accomplished such a feat and go undetected?

_ Just one - Homeostasis. Though, she was kind of a bitch and a half. The supposed balancer of both worlds. If you consider a being that takes pleasure in robbing brunettes of their consciousness in order to get what she wants. Even when the fate of the world isn’t up in the air and they have other parts to play. _   
Rantha rolled his eyes, only to come to a stop. A man and woman stood before him, frozen in time like all the others. The man is dressed as casually as you can possibly get - a white t-shirt, tie off to side and a black pair of sacks. For what's supposed to be the end of this world, maybe getting comfortable should be the last thing on your mind.

Beyond that are a pair of almost dark black eyes and a head of black hair. I think I can make out some blonde roots underneath. Kind of gives off a head honcho sort of vibe. 

The woman on the other hand was a much different story. A sleeveless button-up top hung over her chest, leading right into a surprisingly short pink skirt. Which had a magenta covering over it. Made the inclusion of yellow frizzy bracelets and the pouch at her side all the weirder. Not as weird as the white leggings going all the way up and the pair of pink heeled boots on her feet.

Her face was thankfully not as weird as the rest of her, sporting a pair of bright pink eyes that went well with the head of washed out pink hair.

Large chunks of the building hung overhead, the threat of crushing almost nonexistent after an eternity of being stuck there without anything to free them from their prison.

_ The irony alone is hilarious enough. Even forcing someone towards your future is only bound to fail in the end. If it were to work out, someone else is going to suffer. _

"I'll take your word for it." Rantha remarked as Carinamon took his chances at grabbing hold at the woman's pouch. Better than her body… maybe. A tug followed, a copy of the pouch now in the feathered scorpion digimon's claws. Handing it off to his partner, Rantha made short work of whatever seal had been placed on the pouch. Reaching down into it, out comes a heart-shaped device. Pink metal covers most of it, with a small part reserved for a glass screen. Looks relatively untouched for the possible amount of uses this woman got out of it. Not sure how you’re supposed to activate it, though.

_ That’s complicated. It used to be that only certain people could activate those, but somehow Ms pink-haired managed to get around that. Wasn’t enough to change the tide. No, that would fall to one of the other idiots who couldn’t quite keep their end of the bargain. _

Their end of the bargain? What are you even talking about? As in the spy that 

A box formed around the man and woman. Guess that’s the end of this conversation. Not that we were getting anywhere to begin with on that subject. Back to catching up then. Madame is going by Maddie now, same pronouns as before.

“Got it.” Rantha remarked and headed past the box. We can’t be that much farther from DM. Unless this is just one more trick by way of the digital world to stretch out a space further than it actually looks. Unlikely. “I’m guessing that something came up to spur that?”

Yeah. Yvonne’s mother of all people. She’s a bit on the crazy side and wants to kill all the members of Distant Harmony. Followed by then killing Maddie and possibly the rest of the residents of Aldia that aren’t orcs or succubi.

Rantha came to a stop. Looking up to the ceiling, muttering of threats following. To be fair, it would’ve been worse if you were there yesterday. Blaze got his butt kicked.

“Idiot. He already has someone’s heart. The last thing he needs is to die.” the merchant muttered and got a look from Carinamon. A chuckle followed. “Dave is still technically under my command. It reflects horribly on me if I have someone ending up with a broken heart.”

Huh. I’m surprised that they consider them all still employed. What about the one that Maddie killed because he headed into their secret lair? For as incompetent as Distant Harmony looks, there’s no way they would continue to pay a dead man. Right?

“I actually don’t know, but it wouldn’t be that surprising if it happened from time to time.” Rantha continued and headed off. Okay... I was kind of hoping that wouldn’t be the answer that you give to something like fraud, but that was asking too much from an organization of that caliber. I’m guessing that Criasu Corp is somehow even worse?

The turnover rate is something around 100%. The fact that we don’t even make money in the first place doesn’t help either.   
So this place was a front, but with nothing in the way of a proper business to bring in cash flow. What? Were they funded by money brought from the future? I’m no expert when it comes to money, but there’s no way that can work.

“Eh. They could have other ways of keeping those who go looking into their affairs out.” Carinamon suggested as the pair passed through the hallway - a room now in view. Large glass tubes line the wall, people held within. Most of them look younger than our heroes - except for some guy with spiky brown hair and the man dressed up like he wants to be a wizard. Not that wizards actually exist here. What’s more concerning is the large crack in the far left tube. Instead of finding a body there, there’s just flickering.

_ Oh yes, that. This is what I was talking about. _

Rantha’s pace picked up, his feet reaching the room well before he even realized it. Once he did, the merchant came to a stop. Even beyond the tubes filled with people and the very likely dead man, wires criss-crossed about the floor and led into all kinds of holes in the walls. DM, I’m guessing you’re in the panel?

Yeah. It’s not my favorite spot, but it works. Once my body is complete, I’ll finally be able to leave this place for good. Maybe.

“What about the people in the tubes?” Rantha remarked, static echoing across our heads. Images dance about unlike anything either of us have seen before. Absolute sound and sensory overload unlike anything felt before. If these people were still somehow alive, their minds can’t be in a good spot. If anything actually remains in their hands.

“Hi there! Are you friends of mommy?” a voice announced, a salamon of all digimon walking over. Uh.. yeah. We’re friends of DM. You must be the other Salamon that was given out. It’s nice to meet you. “Yeah. Mommy has been really hard at work.”

Rantha bent down, giving the dog digimon a pet. Carinamon was right behind. Though, Salamon was less than thrilled to be nearly stinged by the feathered scorpion digimon. I wouldn’t blame them for feeling that way. The last I would want is to be poisoned. Though considering that DM has shouted about you chewing on their wires.

Yeah. I’m aware that my abode isn’t really good for really raising a digimon. Let alone one that I can’t really interact with. Soon. I just don’t quite know when.

“Is there anything me or the rest of my friends can do to speed up this process?” Rantha remarked and is currently getting a look from me. I get you’re trying to make amends with people, but it might be best to wait till you get back at least.

_ What your boss just said. _

I’m not his boss. I’m his sponsor. Or something along those lines. The point is, our focus needs to be on making sure that Maddie is proven innocent and we can find the next digital dungeon.

“Fine.” Rantha muttered and took the time to get one more pet in on Salamon. Never know when you might find yourself getting to pet something that isn’t trying to kill you. Outside of that, anything of note on your end, DM?

_ Yes, actually. There seems to be a large group of buildings and spaceships of all things appear to be approaching slowly towards the digital world’s atmosphere in an effort to land. My attempts to contact them have all ended in failure. If there’s a lull during the xenophobic, racist and paranoid orc whatever, maybe ask that other person. The one with the sickle - Melody. _

Oh yeah. She did say something about that. But for them to be coming so soon. Do you have an estimate on when they’ll arrive?

Pretty soon. Though, you would also need to find a port that will take you close.

“Will do.” Rantha remarked, turning around towards the way he and Carinamon came from. I trust you have everything packed and ready back at the spaceship?

The merchant nodded and headed off, giving a wave as he did. Heading back through the hallway, little time is taken for the fallen. Time is of the essence currently. While I doubt Polias or whoever the heck calling the shots really cares you’re out and about, might be best to pick up the pace.

“Is that because I’m the sole person up at this ungodly hour?” Rantha continued as he passed through the walls with all the walls around those people. Coming to a stop at those additional walls, the merchant gave the barrier a slight tap. Looks pretty solid. Not entirely sure what you pl-

As it turns out, what Rantha was trying to do was reach over the wall and over to the girl. Let me guess. You’re getting that costume for Blaze for what happened with Yvette. That’s a bit petty, Even as a welcome back from my purgatory gift, that’s not going over well.

Rantha wasn’t listening to my warning. Instead, he continued to reach over the wall. Grabbing hold of a ribbon, he gave it a tug. Instead of just getting the ribbon, he found himself holding the whole outfit. Nice job.

“Where the heck are we going to put that?” Carinamon remarked and watched his partner wrap it up, stuffing it into his purse. Or would we be calling it a satchel. The name doesn’t really matter - I’m fine either way. “We could care less.”

With the prize now claimed, our merchant headed out of the room and into what I hope is the last hallway before we can leave this place. Wait. Couldn’t you have just teleported out in the first place? I would kill for that level of teleportation around the academy.

“I wished it worked that way here. Needs some kind of strange box as an activator.” Rantha answered and dug into his purse. Quite handy how much stuff these things can carry. I’m going to assume you have just about everything that was possibly in your room back at the spaceship. Are you going to miss it?

Once more, the merchant came to a stop. Staring up towards the ceiling, a deep breath followed. In what seemed like the first time in forever, he was back there. The hallway disappeared, the shop taking over. Fuck. Had it really been that long? False memories slowly purged, the truth still felt so weird. Like it shouldn’t be what happened. But it was.

“Is that everything?” he had asked, staring over the counter towards his partner. Between the massive pile of glass, destroyed ingredients and other stuff knocked about, it was just one more mess in the already dirty storefront. No one really came through anyway. If they did, other options existed to get their gear and supplies.

“Should be.” Carinamon answered, dragging over the bag with some level of care. Lifting it up, Rantha made sure to grab hold. Slipping it around his arm, one more look around the shop followed. Hard to believe that this was his place. Maybe it had been someone else’s at some point and he had inherited it. Maybe he just stumbled into this place. Whatever explanation it was, the artisan was going to miss it.

“Polias, we’re ready to go.” he announced as the pair exited the store, finding themselves faced with a large oval. Big enough for both to pass through, the other side showed what I can only assume to be the spaceship. Has to be. Where else would Polias even put the people they had personally picked out? Some world on the chopping block but far enough down the list that it could still still have some use? Or perhaps an entirely different ship. No answer came, the pair heading through without a second thought.

Back in reality, Rantha took a deep breath. Sorry about that. Didn’t intend to bring forth those memories well after the fact.

“It’s alright.” the merchant remarked, continuing his walk down the hall. Not really anything to talk about here. Just a boring hallway with dead people in it. Thankfully, the exit wasn’t that far away. Heading through, we find ourselves out on a beach of all places. I get the feeling this wasn’t where this building initially stood. But to move it on that level, that’s quite impressive. Most wizards can’t even move anything close to that. “Digi-port open!”

The box sucked the duo in, depositing them right outside the door to Malibu. Night still hangs over Aldia, not that it’s actually going to stop a certain dancer from getting a little more practice in. Or perhaps insomnia has taken and is refusing to let go.

Whatever the case, the practice looks to be a mix of ballet twirls, splits and a handful of kicks.

“Welcome back.” Blaze greeted, ears of the bunny costume bouncing about with each step. The wounds from earlier still visible, even with the generally covering fabric of his top. A couple days at minimum before his chest is back to normal. Which is on top of his burnt hands.

"I heard about what happened." Rantha remarked and got a look from the dancer. Digging into his purse, out comes the magical girl outfit. Holding it out, Blaze let out a deep breath. Your call, Blaze. If you do take it, you'll need to ask Dave to help you get changed. If not, Rantha can wear it.

"I’ll pass." the dancer answered and sat down. His gaze met his hands in all their burnt and charred frustration. "Rantha, can I ask you something?"

The merchant nodded and sat down beside him. Carinamon climbed down, making sure to give both of them some space. Probably for the best. Who knows where this 

“Do you have some advice on kicking people?” the dancer asked and watched his audience take a deep breath. Definitely not the question I was expecting there. Yet, Rantha let out a chuckle.

“Maybe. You just need to be willing to listen.” Rantha answered and got a nod from Blaze. Standing back up, Blaze was right behind.


	2. 70. Into hell we walk

I don't

Maddie von Strauss woke up in a cold sweat. The events of the previous day echoed about within their head, refusing to let go under any circumstance. Why couldn't their dreams be something happy for once? But no, that was asking for far too much - images of the dead swimming about their mind.

"Morning." they whispered, watching Ella look up from the covers. Still dressed in yesterday clothes, the artificer didn't look too hot either. Rubbing her eyes a couple times, she reached out for Maddie's hand. The thief grabbed hold tight. "You ready?"

Ella shook her head and let out a sigh. On the bright side (if you could even call it that), Rantha is finally back. Criasu Corp headquarters is an interesting place. Lots of dead bodies and a magical girl in the middle of it all - Cure Grace.

"That's good to know." Ella whispered and pushed the covers away. Letting go of Maddie's hand, their attention turns to the room. Compared to everything else in this manor, this room was absolutely filled to the brim with collectables. Weapons and armor far too big for the hands of someone so small stood triumphantly around all four walls, powerless to defend against the pile of ill-gotten inventions. Almost hilarious, if not for the fact that I'm absolutely tired. "Yeah. Once the inn has been rebuilt, I'll build a dedicated room for all that stuff."

I can see that. Between both Yvette's arrival and the continued attempts by Distant Harmony, that's still a long way off. No rest for the wicked.

"Pretty much." Maddie muttered, taking the time to rub their eyes one last time before grabbing their whip off the floor. Kind of surprised you don't have a nightstand to place that down on. Better yet, a stand to hold what I can only assume to be a weapon passed down from one Madame to another. Shaking their hand, they clip their weapon to the side of their dress. "I highly doubt that. Most of the weapons here were probably gathered off of dead bodies or taken as 'payment' for a job."

Uh… good to know. I trust that this is all separate from the money that's distributed around to keep the economy going? Even if it somehow isn't, why the hell don't the people of Aldia engage in any form of trading. I assume you people have something that other people might possibly want and in turn, there are things you must definitely need. Or am I somehow missing something incredibly obvious?

"Some trading does occur, but not enough to really call it a main selling point of Aldia." Ella countered and pulled the sheets back up. Once that was done, it was right back to Maddie. "We have meat and leather, but that's about it."

Do you know where these people are coming from at least? Any other towns, points of interests that a majority of these people are coming from?

"I do know of a couple towns in the surrounding area. But all those places are quite a ways from Aldia." the artificer continued as the pair headed for the doorway. Passing through, it's a short walk down the hallway and past all the sections of the Manor that haven't been opened up yet. Another thing to add to the list of things to do after this mess with Yvette has finally blown over. But I digress.

"Morning." Blaze called out as he exited the room. Still dressed in the bunny girl outfit, his steps look a lot more confident. Even if it's only been a couple hours, tops. I trust you are far more secure about your current state.

A nod, followed by Rantha and Carinamon making their entrance. Much like our dancer, they look no worse for the wear.

"I trust that you're holding up as best you can?" Rantha croaked out, Carinamon taking this as the perfect opportunity to climb up his partner's body and take a seat on his shoulder. Focusing on Maddie and Ella, both adventurers stare back at him. With a couple days passing since the trip to Malibu, the animosity is kind of deserved. Even if the likelihood of you digivolving again is unlikely, that's still not a risk we want to take.

"Like, morning!" Kollmon announced, making her way up the stairs. Fuck. Something else came up during the Criasu trip and I'm not entirely sure if I should tell you. Especially after the ordeal you took just trying to remember Cassandra. "Just tell me."

Okay. Just don't climb over the railing and jump after I tell you this. The last thing that Maddie needs is having to deal with one more person on the edge.

A nod. Good. We're on the same page here. Here goes nothing. Right before the world 'ended', an entity (DM isn't completely sure which) offered Cassandra to take you off her hands in the hopes that her sacrifice would mean that you would eventually end up in someone else's hands.  
Kollmon sighed, taking a seat on the step.

"Isn't it like, hilarious that even after all that, she couldn't quite go through with it." the mole digimon remarked, looking down at her paws. "Whether that was by way of the disaster happening before she could finish or some regret, the choice should've been obvious. But part of her for whatever reason loved the old me."

A single droplet fell to the ground, staining the step. Wiping whatever remained of it away, her attention returned to Maddie. No words spoken, just a single nod of acknowledgement. While neither don't know if this was the same case (it's definitely not for Phusitmon and maybe Balamon's), we can at least assume that for the majority of the digimon here. Though, that's still quite a risky gamble. Just ignoring the fact that this entity got six humans to actually agree to this, you have to be certain that whatever happens in such a way that all six people are able to pass on (hopefully peacefully), you also need a way to actually get the digimon out of there and back into eggs or something.

"You would have to kill the digimon first in order to get them to that state." a voice called out, Cinemon making his way up the stairs. Balamon was right behind, even if he did have a little trouble slithering his way up. "Generally, most digimon would prefer to not be killed. Unless you're a leomon."

Okay… I understand the first part (mostly). But what's this about these leomon and being fine with dying? While I've heard rumors of eldritch beings capable of keeping mortal souls intact in order to create chaos and further their plans. Definitely not a case of that. Or is this a case of death just being a major part of a leomon's culture?

"The latter." Cinemon answered and looked behind him. Balamon was making progress, but it was still a struggle just getting up the stairs. So Cinemon made his way back down and scooped the fire snake digimon up. Dragging him up the stairs, Balamon was dropped right at Blaze's feet.

"Thank you." Balamon whispered, carefully slithering his way up Blaze's leg and over to his arm. Once there, he carefully wrapped around the appendage. Once that's done, his gaze turns to Carinamon. Guess this is a glare party now.

"Don't even think about it." Carinamon countered and focused on Cinemon. Currently in the middle of getting a pet from Ella, his focus was more on her than the feathered scorpion digimon. Maybe that's better for now. You're bound to get a hell of a lot of attention come the trial. Not very good attention, but still attention nonetheless. Need to be on your guard. "Understood."

Breaking away from glaring at Carinamon, it's back down the stairs for everyone. I'm going to assume that almost everyone else is awake?

"Pretty much." Balamon answered and looked to Blaze. "Dave is currently making breakfast. By any chance did you two… get up to anything?"

The dancer looked away, mutters of something exiting out. Oh. I guess that explains a number of things. You did make sure to patch up your wounds after? The last thing we need is you getting more hurt without a real way to actually heal it up. Which does in fact include inter- Good morning, Salamon. I met your friend with DM. Oh. Uh.. they aren't the smartest dog. Likes getting shocked. Uh… can I assume that to not be normal behavior? Wait, it is? You guys like chewing on things… because it trains you on the off-chance that you don't have opposable thumbs. Wait. Why would you have opposable thumbs in the first place. You're a dog. Why would you even grow thumbs, let alone hands in the first place. Hold up. It's entirely possible that you'll not be a dog forever and that at some point, you'll grow ten feet tall and tower over me. Though, I'm more concerned on how a ten foot tall person could be held in such a small, cute body. But that's perhaps a mystery I'll never be able to solve. That's beyond the point.

Now at the bottom of the stairs, our party headed for the kitchen. Not entirely sure what breakfast actually is. I'm going to assume you have something in that pantry of yours. Especially since you made some yesterday.

"I went grocery shopping." Ella answered and got a nod from Maddie. Fair enough. I trust you got rid of anything that's spoiled. Food poisoning is no joke. Even worse when you're dealing with food that has gone sentient. I still need to look over their demands. Absolute bastards for demanding stupidly specific things. Where the fuck am I going to find half of this stuff? Can't they see that I'm the only one here? Do I bring a skeleton over? Or would it be better to fireball them?

"The latter." Rantha answered, Bubbles taking this as his opportunity to hug his leg. Dressed in his other dress, the merchant took the time to pick the little dragon up. A much more suitable hug followed.

"Grandpa!" Bubbles announced and got a glare from Carinamon. Rantha is definitely older than all of you. Even combined, but that's going off of fake memories. Yvonne is technically the oldest by lifespan.

"Thanks for the reminder." Yvonne announced as she made her way out of the kitchen. Still dressed in Marulyn's robes, we have no sign of that bear. Does that mean what I think it means? "Yeah. I'm surprised she actually let me get away with that. Especially after all the other attempts failed."

Wouldn't surprise me if you got it back once the repairs to your armor are done. Probably hide something in there for good measure. Outside of that, how are you feeling?

The knight let out a deep breath, staring up towards the ceiling. The spots where the maids hung themselves all those months ago are still visible. Fuck. That feels like yesterday. Very much aware that it isn't, just how it comes across in my mind.

"I'm just hoping that I won't have to kill my mom." Yvonne remarked, getting nods all around from her companions. Last thing we need is a bloodbath because she's so hellbent on murdering Maddie and then everyone else.

"Yvonne, can I ask you something?" Maddie remarked, Yvonne's gaze swiveling over to them. The khakkhara jingles about, disturbing what little silence hanging over the entryway. "Did your mom know the previous Madame by any chance?"

Yvonne's gaze shifted to the ground as her eyes slid shut. Some memory buried within - brought forth by this strange turn of events. The world spinning about, the darkness within her own head giving way to a room somewhere in the fortress. An orc just came into the world, brought forth by the combined essence of both her mother and father. Gazing about, the only other people in attendance is another orc - this one in their twilight years. Dressed in a leather coat, tools hung all across their body. Some kind of healer, perhaps? Sounds right. They make their way over to the baby orc, slowly picking them up. Examining this little bundle of orcish joy a couple times, they hand it back to the mother orc.

"It's a girl, Mrs Kirjaw." the healer explained, handing the child back to her mother. A sigh exited their lips, a look from the father following. They mutter something under their breath. I can imagine that they were hoping for a boy. Beggars can't be choosers. Fuck. That explains a lot. As far as they may have come, some things remain unchallenged. Cultural bias, or perhaps one born of fears of peace ending far too soon. The former can absolutely fuck off, the latter irrational. Which can also fuck off for that matter.

Thankfully, a knock on the door brings an end to that. The healer makes their way over and pulls the door open. On the other side, a halfling stood patiently. A much taller woman stands beside them. Dressed in the garb of the servant, they're relatively alive. Odd to see her like this. What happened to have caused her death. Perhaps some result of the magic.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the father orc screeches as he goes for his axe. Not that this will do any good (this being a flashback and all).

"Coming to graduate you on the new bundle of joy, of course!" the halfling greets, getting faced with glares from all parties. Except for the 'bundle of joy'. She's currently very confused by the very short woman who's decided that today of all days is perfect to visit. Don't really blame her on that front. I would probably be confused as well.

"Madame von Strauss, leave." the mother orc shouts, flinging what I can only assume to be a rock. That just raises so many questions on how the fuck one gets through an orc pregnancy. You know what? It's probably best to not even think about those things in the first place. Especially as Yvonne's eyes opened up. To answer your question, yes. To what extent? I'm not particularly sure. Well enough that she'll show up unannounced to the birth of the Clan Mother's one and only child. A high honor, even if the same was definitely not done for when it was the previous Madame's turn to 'give birth'. No, it was not through an egg. Get your head out from wherever you have it stuck. Metaphorically. You better not have gotten it stuck while the sentient vegetables are possibly plotting to eat us. And no, the solution is not to eat them. That's a good way to get killed. And I'm not completely sure what would happen if you somehow did. So let's not go finding that out. Okay?

"Sentient vegetables?" Yvonne remarked and stared up to the ceiling once more. Yeah. Turns out preserving food through magic might not be the best idea. I guess it isn't that surprising after one of the cooks turned out to be a cannibal. Great cook too. Beyond the point. You guys need to eat something. And now is probably the best time to do so. Especially before someone shows up to make this mess even bigger than it's already us.

"Fair point." Balamon remarked, everyone now taking this as their opportunity to head into the kitchen and give me a moment to actually think over what the fuck I just saw. Okay… If Maddie is right on their age, that would mean they were in their mid-teens when Yvonne was born. With the way this conspiracy 'works', why doesn't that feel right? Like something is just tau- Fuck. I've been looking at this all wrong.

"What do you mean?" Melody called out, looking up from her seat. Still dressed in yesterday's clothes, Munbimon sitting in her lap. I'm not entirely sure how to put this. This is probably way out of left field and probably a long shot. But here goes - Either Yvette was always a succubus and was pretending to be an orc or her husband was actually an incubus who was hoping for a son. Or I could be completely off my stones and this probably means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"Who can really say." Yvonne answered, deciding that leaning up against a wall was close enough to sitting for her. I do hope I didn't freak you out with that reckless speculation. "Not at all. I'm just as confused as you are."

Gotcha. As I was saying - Lumosmon was currently floating beside our mystic. Though, their 'gaze' has turned to Rantha - a sequence of colors blasting about their body. Guess someone didn't take you ditching their partner very well.

"I would've been back sooner, but management decided that I needed to do all the paperwork on the spaceship." Rantha countered and took a seat beside Melody. Giving Lumosmon a pet, his attention turned to Dave. Hard at work making breakfast, he most definitely noticed the arrival of our merchant and everyone else. Unlike everyone that isn't Bubbles, he actually had a spare pair of clothes on hand to change into. That doesn't explain why Phusitmon of all people is watching him work. Even from the table, that's tempting fate in a big way.

"I'm aware." the plush rabbit digimon remarked and smoothed out his outfit. Which Bubbles took as the perfect opportunity to jump out of Rantha's arms and onto the table. A hug followed. "Are you feeling better?"

The little dragon nodded and let go of Phusitmon. Climbing down the table, it's over to Maddie and Ella for hugs. A gesture well-received by the pair. I can't even think of a time when it wouldn't be.

"Thank you, dear." Maddie cooed as they wrapped their arms around Bubbles. Joined by their girlfriend, it makes for one heck of a sand- I should probably eat something. Hopefully not something sentient. Let's see now. Here's some fruit. Still fresh. Want some, Salamon? Okay.

"So you've returned." Dave remarked and shot his former boss a look. Placing the plates down on the table, Rantha took a deep breath. Wasn't anything he could say to really rectify running off and creating an even bigger mess in the process. What he could say, might be able to soften whatever blow was coming his way from the maid.

"Sorry about that." the merchant answered, getting another look from Dave. Taking a deep breath, he made sure to keep his focus on just him. "I'm aware I fucked this up for you and everyone else. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

Dave looked over to Blaze. The dancer nodded. All that he needed to know. Right back to Rantha. A head shake followed, the rest of our heroes heading over to the table and taking the equivalent of a seat at the table.

"Nothing for the moment, but I'll keep it in mind." the maid answered, time taken to make sure no mess had been made in Maddie's kitchen. Nothing worse than finding someone else has left you a mess to clean up… Fuck. That's just my life now. Oh well. I'll live.

The actual eating of this gourmet breakfast was far shorter than one would expect it to be. Nothing really said, just the sound of people eating. Once that's all done, it's off for everyone to grab their purses. I would think you people would at least keep them close, but no. Considering the state you were all in leading into today, I don't blame you.

"Ready to go?" Munbimon announced and glided over to her partner. Taking a seat on her shoulder, Yvonne gave her a pet. With that, our heroes pushed the door open and walked right into hell.

* * *

Notes:

Insert joke of verging close to an M-Rating here. Wasn't my intention, just what happened.

.

Next Chapter: Checking on Yvette. This is going to go swimmingly.


	3. 71. Outburst

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Outside, it looked as if the entire town had come to see this happen. Like seriously, beyond the usual orcs and succubi we have a far range of dwarves, elves and other races. I guess most of them work at the farm and other places. Which probably explains why I haven't gotten a chance to really see these people in action.

"Wonderful." Maddie muttered and squeezed Ella's hand. This is the last thing we need - a full event, just to justify sending a message to all involved. A bid for control, or perhaps a last ditch effort to sway things her way after a lack of actually being in Aldia in the last couple of months. Or some mix of the tw- Wait. Those are both of the same thing. Pretend I didn't say anything.

"Guess news traveled fast." Rantha muttered as what appeared to be a knife flew over his head. Turning around, he found himself faced with an incubus of all people. Dressed in a white robe with red trim, short blonde locks hang out from the baggy hood. A pair of white leather boots hung right under the cloak, similar red material used here as well. A single very frustrated yellow eye glared at either Yvonne or Rantha.

I'm going to assume he's some kind of healer. Surprised we haven't run into this guy before. A recent arrival from who knows where. You have a bone to pick with our merchant?

"You could say that." the incubus muttered and took this to be the perfect opportunity to get in close and take a stab at grabbing Rantha. Fuck. That's a pun. And I've been doing so well too. Oh well. Sadly, his reach just wasn't good enough to grab hold of his target. "Hold still so that I can beat the crap out of you for what you did."

Rantha rolled his eyes and stepped towards the incubus. Picking up the knife, he handed it back over to his new friend. Part of me wants to hit you right now. Don't push your luck. We still kind of need you alive going forward.

"I'm aware." the merchant answered, extending his arm out towards the incubus. Knife within reach, his opponent batted it away. "What? I thought you wanted to kick my ass?"

The incubus rolled his singular eye and dragged a finger in front of his throat. Wonderful. Do as I say, not as I do. Or whatever the equivalent of that here in Aldia.

"Angelo, might I suggest you let your grudge come some other day?" Yvonne barked and got a sigh in return. Picking the knife back up, Angelo shoved it back into his pocket. Shooting Rantha one more look before flying off elsewhere. Wonderful. One more person I need to keep an eye on going forward. Yvonne, I'm guessing you know him? "Yes… He's one of the problem people."

Problem people? Do I even want to know what that means in the context of the fortress?

"Wait. That fucker!" Ella muttered and turned to Yvonne. I'm going to assume that this incident happened sometime before I entered your lives and made things weird? "Correct. The moron made an effort to try and pass off a concoction as an elixir to help speed up the process of broken bones. Tasted like a mix of cherries and water."

Hmm… Probably was betting on you not noticing the difference or the doppelganger effect. Healing potions are quite a challenge to brew. Especially ones that actually speed up the healing of broken bones or other major injuries. Considerable amount of time needs to be poured (fuck) into a brew, it's likely that Angelo is either inexperienced or a con-man. Maybe both.

"I'm going to assume that you're talking about the placebo effect." Dave remarked, getting a look from everyone else. "It's the idea that a phony medicine can have the same effect as the actual thing because you believe it to be the real thing."

That sounds awfully dangerous in the wrong hands. Any history of poison, conjuration spells or other activities that would put both the fortress and the rest of town in danger for whatever reason?

Yvonne shook her head. One good thing to come out of this. Can we really call it that? Between Yvette, the impending doom for the town and everything else that might be happening that we don't know about till it's too late. Those are thoughts for another time. No, we need to find wherever this stupid trial is being held in the first place.

"Yeah." Maddie answered and gave Ella's hand one more squeeze. Pulling the artificer along, the group followed along to the best of their abilities.

"Is that really Madame von Strauss? I didn't know she was courting Ella Copperhelm!" a dwarf announced, chuckling echoing about from their friend. Uh… good to know Ella's last name. On the other hand, this is starting to g-

"Probably using her for her money. Some insurance scam to rake in as much gold as possible." their companion - an elf continued, both people now chuckling. An absolutely, truly funny joke. So funny in fact, that neither person noticed Kollmon slash their knees. I get you're pissed at the suggestion that Maddie's relationship is somehow one of advantage. But slashing kneecaps aren't going to change that.

"Like, I know." the mole digimon muttered and held her claw at both people. "Sorry about that. Just wanted to make it clear that it's Maddie, not Madame. Second, it's 'they' not she. Third and finally, how fucking dare you. Maddie has gone through a lot. The last thing they need is someone spreading false rumors like the bimbos you are!"

Neither the dwarf or the elf answer. Instead, they respond to the mole's accusations by smashing her into the ground. Fuck. Nice to see you're receptive to what she said. Not. Thankfully, Maddie was heading over. Hand on their whip, any illusion of good will or 'kindness' dropped for the sake of clarity. Even in the face of additional punishment, the thief picked their partner up. Turning to the pair who had started this, something is muttered. Not completely sure what. Doesn't matter, Ella having already grabbed hold of her girlfriend and Kollmon. The walk back over to the group is let's just say… not the proudest moment. I would think killing that grunt was worse. My opinion, of course.

"I'm totally sorry, Maddie." Kollmon whispered, only for Maddie to pick up her claw. Looking it over, their gaze turned to Bubbles. The little dragon ran over, doing his best to make sure he didn't trip. Pretty simple operation once he got there - healing touch, followed by a hug. After, he focused on Maddie. Getting a head pat from the thief, a hug was a just as suitable response back. Maddie needed all the support they could muster. Every little bit - the smallest, a kind word or some other gesture could make the difference between victory and defeat. The little dragon understood that it would take more than that to clear his mother's name. Let alone bring the truth of not just the 'murder' but what his mother did. But it was a good first step.

"I appreciate your attempt to stand up for my morals." Maddie started and looked over to the pair who started this in the first place. At this point, they decided now was a good time to bail. Yeah. You go do that. Enough damage has been done with your words and your fists. "But now is not the time to do that. Soon, though."

Kollmon nodded, their partner letting go of their hand. Turning back to the area in front of them, the crowds had decided it was maybe best to give some space. I would think us having Rantha would do that. After Angelo's outburst, just biding their time.

"Yvette probably called dibs." Yvonne muttered and gave Munbimon a pet. Nearly knocked her khakkara off in the process. "My mom did claim she was going to murder all of Distant Harmony. Probably going to put her gold where her mouth is."

Rantha looked away. Even with Kollmon's (justified) tantrum, everyone and their brother now knew he was back in Aldia. Once the trial was underway, where the fuck should he stay? While the temptation was very much there to offer his services up to pay for the damage done, that's an easy way to get yourself killed. But so is staying in one place. Is there anything in particular you would like to see?

"The fortress." Rantha muttered and gazed up to the sky. Not only is it the most likely place the trial will be held, it's also the most guarded and I doubt those keeping watch want any funny business "I'm aware. I just want to get a glimpse of the full extent of the damage I caused."

Fair enough. Anywhere you would like to go?

Rantha shook his head, focusing back on the rest of the group. Good thing too, since Marulyn was approaching. Dressed in a spare set of robes, what looked to be a stuffed bear hung from her hands. Oh dear. Someone is busted.

"Yvonne?" the elven mage called out and watched her girlfriend raise a hand up. Heading over, what looked to be one of those mechanical succubus things followed behind her. In it's mechanical hands, hung Yvonne's armor. The damage done by Sakuyamon and Rantha's bombs now repaired, with a new pair of gauntlets to boot. You can't even tell the latter came from a car. Not that anyone outside of our circle has a clue what a car is in the first place.

"Did you get any sleep?" Yvonne answered and watched Marulyn look away. Muttering something to the ground, the bags under her eyes majorly stick out. Probably not. Or if she did, it was so little to actually call it sleep in the first place. More a brisk nap where your eyes nearly shut, but don't for one reason or another. I suspect I have much of that ahead for me. No use in dwelling on that thought. I'm going to assume that you'll need some space, Yvonne?

Yvonne nodded and grabbed the armor from the succubus. Looking about, her gaze found Maddie's former hideout. Heading over, Munbimon took this opportunity to jump off of her partner's shoulder and glide over to Melody. Taking a seat on the mystic's shoulder, a pet followed.

"If I didn't know better, I probably would've thought you're Melody's partner." Marulyn remarked, Melody's cheeks glowing pink. Lumosmon flashed red and floated over to the elven mage. Yeah. They get jealous when it's pointed out.

"Much as I would like that, Munbimon is your girlfriend's partner, Ms Gold." Melody answered and watched Marulyn's gaze shift over to Maddie's hideout. Yvonne had already entered, now in the process of fitting her armor back on. "Though, I suspect you're afraid that she might get hurt fighting Yvette?"

A deep breath, Marulyn's gaze swiveling back over.

"Even if you do win, it's very likely that Yvonne will be unable to become the next clan mother." Marulyn whispered, our heroes' gazes locking onto her. Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you're about to say. But do tell Yvonne. Last thing we need is a secret not known by someone purposefully. Am I clear? Judging by the nod I just got, I believe I am. "Yvonne is nearly at the stage of life where most orcs (even active ones like her) take a step back and retire. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem but with the nature of that other world, it's possible that a trip back from there might spell the end of her."

Just… fuck.

"Let me guess. You either want her to retire while she's still ahead?" Carinamon announced, only to find himself taking a ball of energy. A head shake followed. I don't think that's anything close to what she was going to say.

"No," Marulyn answered and looked to the bear. Letting out a deep breath, a shake followed - something jingling about within the stuffing of the bear. I stand corrected. That's a secret you should keep from a person. We can do that, right?

Nods all around. Even Bubbles got in on the action. Just one small problem. Where the hell are we going to put it? Wait. We just give it back. Simple as that.

"Why does it matter if Yvonne dies. You'll get what you want either way." Maddie countered and got a look from Marulyn. "Why does it matter that the bear gets back to her? She spent a hell of a lot of time just trying to give it to you."

They have a point. You're kind of defeating the purpose.

"What do you mean 'it doesn't matter'?" Blaze inquired and looked over to Maddie. Taking a deep breath, they look over to where Yvonne was. Currently, the knight was making her way back on out. I'm sorry about this.

"If this is about the nature of my relationship with Marulyn, we can talk about it after the trial." the knight remarked and headed back over to the group. Looking over to the bear, a sigh followed. So much for giving it back. "This better not be another one of your inventions."

No response. Even as the succubus companion was now looking at what few people remained in the general area. This whole situation probably seemed quite confusing to them. And it is. Now you know how I feel a lot of the time. Between DM, magical girls and whatever else Distant Harmony has up their sleeves, it sometimes feels as if I'm ten steps behind. It's probably not that severe, but it sometimes feels th- Yes, yes, I'm still thinking over your demands. I'll have my response to you by the end of the day.

"Let me guess. The sentient food you were talking about earlier?" Balamon remarked and looked to the sky. Correct. I had hoped they would leave me alone, but that was wishful thinking on my part. As I was saying, this whole mess feels overwhelming without ever letting up. Sometimes I kind of want to go back to before this mess occurred - a simpler time. Wouldn't do me any good, just mock me for being a coward who turned his back on a bunch of people I care about.

"Good to know." Phusitmon remarked and jumped off of Bubbles's back. Dusting his garment off, it's back to focusing on Marulyn. Blatant suspicions aside, the elven mage was holding up well. Handing the bear back to Yvonne, she managed to sneak a kiss in. Aw… Best of luck on whatever you're currently working on.

Of course, her companion didn't get the message. No, they were focused on Ella of all people. You do realize that she's taken? I don't think that Maddie would really appreciate you trying to take their girlfriend.

"A good opportunity to learn some of her secrets." Ella remarked and slowly approached the succubus. Briefcase in hand, out came a magnifying glass. Not completely sure what exactly you'll find. Not quite artificery, but not quite wizardry either. Some mix of the two? Yeah. Or maybe she's one of those people of the school of inventing. "I'm going to assume that's more of an elective than an actual program for wizards?"

You could say that. The academy didn't get far enough to actually start teaching it. They were also planning to end the lore magic program. Which was really them just filling a spot with whatever stuff they had on hand to make it look like they had an actual class, but didn't. At all. It was a fun set of classes, even if most of the curriculum I probably won't be able to use in a non-teaching environment. You win some, you lose some. Beyond the point. Find anything that you don't recognize?

Ella shook her head, taking the time to set her briefcase down. Stepping up onto it, her examination of this strange cross between succubus and machine continued. Kind of surprised that the succubus hasn't objected. Most inventors are the sort to keep the secret to their inventions to themselves. Definitely an anomaly. Though, it also kind of looks like a set of armor. Not that it would be a good idea to use it like that.

"Probably couldn't fly if you did that." Yvonne added, carefully placing the bear into her secret compartment. Taking the time to make sure it doesn't fall out, her gaze joined that of the rest of her teammates. "I don't think this one flew too well to begin with."

Oh right. The vines. That feels like an eternity. Marulyn probably made adjustments to this one and the other models for situations like adjustments should a situation such as that were to come up.

"Uh… no hard feelings?" Rantha remarked, the succubus focusing on him. Leaning forward, a slap followed. Guess there's some feeli- Oh. So that's what sets it off. Good to know.

"Thanks, Rantha." Ella muttered and gave Cinemon a pet. Picking her briefcase up, a deep breath followed. While our merchant looked away, mutterings of something echoed out of his mouth. Doesn't last too long. Mostly because Carinamon had the brighter idea to poke his partner. Good way to get yourself knocked off and possibly crushed. "It's alright. I don't think I really saw anything of note that would help with my turret that I couldn't ask her myself."

Fair enough. Anything else of note we need to either discuss or deal with at the?

"Not that I can think of." Cinemon remarked, the group heading off once more. Passing by the ruins of The Black Cat Inn, it doesn't get any easier.

"Any progress?" Rantha remarked and looked to the ruins. Nothing done, the result of your actions. In a sense, what you do next will perhaps decide what fate a place like that might have. The choice is up to you. "If you're trying to fill the space with some philosophical meandering, don't bother. I've already made my decision."

Good to hear.

.

On the roof of a building in the fortress, a woman waited. Dressed in the labcoat of a member of distant harmony, a false face stared back. Younger than one would expect, a pair of false pink eyes gaze down to the orcs, succubi and other people here. It was clear that they needed a hero. A hero like her.

"Ready to go, Prosperina?" she announced, her digimon partner floating back down to the roof. Unlike her partner, she had gone for a white dress with a set of blue nipple clips. Wait. I feel like I've seen you before. No matter. A feathery court heel poked out from the dress, the other heel obscured under the skirt. Still doesn't explain the locks of black hair dyed yellow and the helmet hanging over her face. Giving a nod, a smile formed on the woman's mask. "With the dolls in place, it's just about time for my debut.

Prosperina nodded, looking away at the last moment. Much as she cared about her partner, was this going too far to show her love? They were clearly here to destroy this town. No matter how it worked back then, the buildings weren't going to be restored once the dust settled. How would she react then? Flip out? Tear up? Some mix of the two

"Of course, Hathran." the angelic digimon remarked and pushed her thoughts aside. Too late now to go back on this.

* * *

Notes:

A short, little walk to get ready for the coming trial. A calm before the storm. Hey. At least plot happened. Unlike a certain digimon series.

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Next Time: The trial. And all that comes with it.


	4. 72: Oh mother

I don't own digimon.

Warning! The following chapter contains a scene of extreme, graphic violence.

* * *

Compared to the rest of Aldia, the fortress was… quiet. One would expect to hear some amount of work being done to the various buildings within. Progress was definitely made yesterday, even in the face of Yvette's return. How much more would've been made if she hadn't shown up and tried to turn this town upside down over a supposed 'murder', who can really say. I'm no expert when it comes to construction. Even if for some absurd reason I actually was, that's still not factoring in the available supplies, transport and a variety of other things I can't think of at the moment. But I digress.

"Yvette, I'm here!" Maddie announced, looking around for any kind of guard or other forms of security watching the massive front 'hole' of this place. Outside of you guys, there's no one else here. Not even a sign of Marulyn or her wayward succubus thing.

"Probably caught up to her on the way back to her workshop." Yvonne remarked and looked to Munbimon. Sitting on the knight's shoulder, all it takes is a single look to get the message across. Swooping up into the air, the ghost monkey digimon now scanning the area for any guards or other threats who might try and tip this trial in Yvette's favor (willing or not). "I'm not actually sure where my people stand on her. Even with her recent return, she's never really stuck around."

Not even to raise you? An odd decision to make with the child that could possibly become your successor if you die. Or is this case of the parenting goals of your clan far different from the rest of Aldia and the surrounding area?

Yvonne shook her head, her focus shifting over to Dave. Currently in the middle of making sure that Blaze's outfit was still pristine, he definitely heard the question. Whether or not his answer will help is not as clear. Your call, of course.

"It's like Mr Lore Mage implied." Dave explained, letting out a deep breath. Lightly gripping his boyfriend's wrist, a squeeze followed. "Comparing something like my childhood to yours would be silly. I'm not completely sure what a 'normal' childhood would even look like in the first place."

Neither do I, or anyone else standing around you. You're in good company on that front. But getting to know how you grew might provide contrast to the mess that is the current clan mother.

Dave nodded and let go of Blaze's wrist. Focusing on Yvonne as we head off towards the center of the fortress, whispers followed. Low enough for everyone except me and Bubbles. Yes, I already had a pretty good idea on what our maid's home life was like. Bubbles on the other hand, has been exposed to far more adult stuff in this short time than most people would experience in a good chunk of their li-

Setting Phusitmon down, Bubbles stopped. Stretching his arms out, I'm going to assume that's an air hug for me? I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think I can return the favor. At least, not yet. Maybe some time in the future. Does that work for you?

Nodding, our little dragon made sure to pick his partner up. Setting Phusitmon on his back, he made a beeline for his teammates. I don't think any of them noticed. Or really minded that Bubbles ran off. No, their focus is on the crowd of people ahead. Mostly orcs, a few succubi and incubi were scattered about in the crowd for good measure. Though, the focus is on Yvonne. They all look to be armed with axes, maces and bows. To go with their weapons, regular clothes had been forgone in the face of orcish armor. Compared to the set adorning Yvonne, these don't look to be as well kept - dust and patches of rust dot the various pieces adorning their bodies. A couple don't even look to either fit properly or were never meant to be worn by the person currently wearing it. Not that this is going to stop them from trying to create a fuss well before the main event. Even though a whole bunch has already happened that we're all having to deal with because of the fuss created yesterday.

"Clan Daughter, why do you have both the wo-" one of the orcs announced, finding the khakkhara pointed their way. Rings jingling about, the spike mere inches from the orc's armor.

"Because they're my teammates." Yvonne countered, her gaze shifting to Maddie. Muttering something to the thief, she got a nod in return. Then it's right back to staring down one of her own people. All while the khakkhara was still pointed into the crowd. "Rantha will work off his debt, once this trial is over and he is given a chance to actually assess the damages done and what work still needs to be accomplished. Until that happens, you will not attack him or Melody. Is that clear?"

Silence fell over the group, Yvonne placing her khakkhara on her back. The crowd looked among each other, then it's right back to the knight. Their weapons sheathed and/or hidden, for how long remains to be seen. If at all. But that's the least of our worries.

"Good." Yvonne remarked, looking up to the sky. Munbimon was well off in the distance, turning around for the flight back. Shouldn't be that long till she gets back. Shifting her focus away from the sky, her focus instead returns to the group. "By any chance do you know where the trial is to be held?"

More silence. While I'm able to catch a couple whispers in the crowd, I don't think even they know where it's going to take place. One questionable way to keep control of those who might lash out at you in check. Definitely better and nicer ways to go about it. I digress, of course.

"Uh… thanks for supporting me?" Rantha whispered, watching Yvonne's gaze swivel over to him. A nod, then it's right back to looking ahead. As for the merchant, his attention turned to Melody. Currently humming a tune to herself, the Wu Jen mask is poking out from the sleeve of her kimono. Not enough for anyone who didn't know it was there to raise an alarm, but enough for those that did to know what was up. "Any appearances from the Wu Jen today?"

Melody came to a stop. Turning to him, her gaze faced the ground. Showing up at the trial as the Wu Jen would only add fuel to the Yvette's want to murder all of the Distant Harmony members here in Aldia. But on the other hand, Yvette is just as likely to try and murder Maddie regardless of the verdict. The choice is up to you.

"Quiet and clear, Mr Mage." the mystic remarked, making sure her mask was slightly more hidden than it was currently. Then it's back to Rantha. Whispering something under her breath, the merchant nodded. Focus returning to the area ahead, things appear relatively normal. The various houses held within the fortress are starting to look back to where they were before this mess. Hard to believe, especially after all the rubber created by both the vines and the fall debris created from their destruction. Almost all of that is either gone, been dumped somewhere else or refurbished into the new houses.

"Yvonne, are your people always this resourceful?" Rantha called out and watched the knight turn to face him. Walking over, she looked over to the home. Then it's right back to the merchant.

"From what stories were passed down, absolutely." Yvonne answered and waited a couple seconds. "Even though Yvette has 'control' over Aldia, much of the land that the clan could even expand into is already held by the people who were here to begin with."

I'm guessing after a long, possibly bitter war where both sides came to a stalemate, any want for expansion has either turned to other places or has been quelled?

Yvonne nodded. Glad to be on the same page as you.

"Great and all, but why don't they make an attempt at claiming land now?" Carinamon countered, his gaze swiveling over to Yvonne. Feathered claw raised up, someone is oddly pumped about possible bloodshed and annexing of land that doesn't belong to you. A far cry from someone who wants to help their partner make amends for the destruction caused months ago. "You know what I meant."

Yvonne chuckled and pushed the claw down. Heading off, time was taken to look back at the feathered scorpion digimon. Though, her attention is more on the sky, Still no sign of Munbimon. Where could she be?

"Trade, for starters. Even if that mostly has dried up as of late." the knight continued, making sure to keep up with the rest of the group. "Secondly, the farms belong to the clan. While there were attempts to get in, those either didn't work or were too far away from Aldia to really make the trip worth it."

I'm guessing one of those farms produces cherries in some capacity? Because for the amount of cherry scent supposedly on Marulyn, I haven't really seen much in the way of cherries. Is it just not the season or this something else entirely?

"I don't actually know if I'm being honest here." Yvonne answered, her gaze shifting to the sky one more time. Still no Munbimon. Either she went a bit further than she intended too, or something bad happened. Maybe both. But we'll cross the bridge when we get there. "While it's possible she does make the trip to the farms often enough, I haven't really thought about it up until now."

Fair enough. Maybe time will work out and I'll actually see the cherries blossoming. For another day. Yvonne let her gaze return to the group, picking her pace to stay with her teammates. Rantha followed right behind. Should be coming upon the center of the fortress. If there's a place for someone to have a trial, this would be the place. Though, I'm not entirely certain what one would need for a trial. Probably a bunch of chairs, some tables and maybe something to keep any intruders from getting in. I get the feeling that the last one isn't something you're going to get. Could be wrong.

"I hope not." Cinemon answered, stopping to take a moment to look about. "That's usually considered rigging your trial in the prosecutor's favor. Generally a no-no in most cases. Yvette probably doesn't care enough to follow the bare min-

A double-sided axe came crashing into the walkway, bringing an end to Cinemon's statement. Everyone's gaze turned to a far-off building. Yvette was standing there, Munbimon sitting right under her metal boots. Fuck. Should've seen that one coming a mile away. Nothing that I can do ab- No, I'm not talking about you. Why would you ever think that? I love you lots and lots. Nothing is going to change that.

"I assure you that I made sure to get everything." Yvette announced, her daughter's gaze already finding its way over. Dressed in what I can only imagine to be a fancy dress under a set of armor made invisible, she's awfully smug for someone who is about to decide the fates of a bunch of people in the most unfair way imaginable. You know, a totally reasonable reason to grab your daughter's partner and hold her hostage. Not.

"Really now? If anything, this thing was just flying about- looking for things she wasn't supposed to be. Serves h-"

"Yvette, go fuck yourself." Yvonne announced and held her khakkara out. Turning to Maddie, a whisper followed. Whatever she said doesn't really matter. Our knight is very pissed and she's absolutely justified for feeling that way.

Yvonne initiated a trade with Maddie.

Do you accept?

No/Yes

Maddie looked to their options. Doesn't take much - just a little tap. A green outline formed around Yvonne, her khakkhara pointed towards Yvette. Charging towards the orc turned succubus, there is a fury within Yvonne unlike any other. Far beyond that of what happened in her duel with Sakuyamon, you've really done it now. This whole situation could've been avoided. But no, that was just a step too far.

"You of all people have no room to talk." Yvette countered, her claws now outstretched. 'Grinding' Munbimon about, I doubt that was quite the result she was looking for. To answer your question, I am merely an observer with an invested interest in seeing Yvonne and company succeed. If that means her going toe-to-toe with you, so fucking be it. A feeling shared across your opponents and possibly people outside of this fortress.

"Infuse!" Yvonne announced, the outline around her shining even more intensely than it had mere moments ago. "Gale!"

The khakkhara's rings jingle about, launching the knight into the air. Yvette swooped towards her, claws meeting spike and getting knocked back.

"Is that it? You're just going to side with that woman?" Yvette screeched, slashing her claws into Yvonne's chest piece. In return, she was treated to a punch to the face. Sadly, it's nowhere near enough to actually knock her out and maybe bring a swift end to this possible trial. Though, I'm surprised we haven't seen anyone nearby who can see these two. Or if they can, perhaps they thought it was best to stay low and hope they don't get caught in the crossfire.

"You could say that." Munbimon announced as she glided her way over to Melody. Taking a seat on her head, a deep breath followed.

"Did you see anything at least?" Melody remarked and carefully petted the ghost monkey digimon. But all the mystic got was a head shake. Huh. Where does that leave us now? We have no clue where the heck this trial is going to be, no clue what might be in store for us when we get there and Yvonne is currently beating up her mom. At least we got you back.

"Yeah." Munbimon muttered, focusing on her partner out in the distance. A clear match regardless of age, maybe it's best that Marulyn can't see this. I would imagine she wouldn't be particularly happy to see all her work torn apart because Yvette has the relationship skills of some diviners I knew. You would think the people most skilled at reading people would actually use that power to make things easier. No, that's asking too much. They are somehow the densest people around. I'm not sure how that's possible. You have multiple options to discern feelings and motives. Use them! Or at the very least learn some proper social skills. I get that school isn't the best environment for furthering your relationships, but you gotta take the first step. Sorry. Just had to get that out of my system. Back with Yvonne and Yvette, the pair was still going toe-to-toe with each other. Little progress had been made on both sides. Even with the gusts of wind blowing about and coming very close to tearing apart the buildings that her people have worked so hard to rebuild.

"But you were fine with her tearing me to pieces just a minute ago." Yvette countered, a total generalization of what I just said. Like seriously, are you trying to get on my nerves? Because you're coming close to that.

"First off, she's just gotten this weapon." Ella remarked and flung her turret. Landing nicely out of reach for both fighters, but more than enough to get shooting. Even if it is just the regular bullets rather than the infused ones. "Judging by the way you throw that axe around implies that you much very much are looking to cause trouble."

Yvette rolled her eyes, shooting a single glance over to her weapon as Dave pulled it out. Wow. that's a hell of a lot lighter than one would expect a double-sided axe to be. Perhaps a replica or maybe borrowed off someone that wouldn't mind our maid here borrowing the weapon. More like confiscating it for future use. I'm guessing you understand the basics?

Dave nodded and raised the weapon up. Even in the light, you can clearly see the craftsmanship on display. You have to be on Marulyn's level to forge the axe heads from one piece of metal. Or a magician. Maybe both in a situation like this. Nonetheless, Dave charged towards the battlefield. Blaze was right behind. Please don't hurt yourself. Last thing we need is you burning another part of your body to a state similar to your hands. Is that clear?

"Yep." Blaze answered, his gaze already shifting to his partner. Without a word, Balamon nodded. A red outline formed around the dancer's body. I wonder how well it'll work with his feet rather than his hands. Only one real way to find out. "Infuse, Ember!"

Following right behind his boyfriend, Blaze managed to pass by. Jumping into the air, he pulled his leg up. Swinging it back down on the way back, the limb connects with Yvette's head. Right as Dave's new axe hits the stomach. Quite a light hit. But for a first attempt, some restraint is understandable. Especially as Maddie and Kollmon join the fray.

"Thank you for making life all the more easier." Yvette cooed, her focus already turning to the thief. A lick around the lips followed. Wonderful. "Last night, I thought of so many things I could do with your body once this is all said and done."

"Not a word." Ella remarked, unintentionally reading my thoughts. Yeah. It went a couple places that I really was hoping that it wouldn't go. Just one more perk to this job of mine. Lucky me. Though, I don't think a briefcase is quite the weapon you use should be bonking someone capable of tearing through armor. The choice is up to you. Ella nodded, charging head-on to join up with her girlfriend. A pretty easy task. Even with how much of a head start they had, the artificer was more than able to close the distance. I doubt that our thief really minded.

"Like, that's fucked up." Kollmon remarked and got a look from Maddie. Letting out a deep breath, their whip made contact with Yvette. They pulled back, providing the perfect opportunity for their girlfriend to charge in and smash the briefcase into the

"Why do you even care? This destruction most definitely benefited your business." Yvette countered and was treated to another gust of wind. Still nowhere close to knocking her down, but it did come close to knocking her hands back. A good enough start.

"If I had anything to gain, my inn would still be fucking standing." Ella countered as Cinemon let out a Mewl. A direct hit, comboing right into the turret fire. Not enough. Yvette is still coming back to play. More frustrated than ever. On the bright side, she's been worn down. Have that going for you.

"If anything, the fact that you're more pissed that some of your people ran off rather than the actual damage down is absolutely silly." Melody added and pulled her sickle out. Lumosmon flashed a variety of interesting colors. Not sure the meaning of that. Doesn't matter. Icy motes launch out, meeting a mix of blades and other weapons. Shattering into a million pieces, those shards rained down on Yvette. A perfect opportunity for Rantha to make his entrance and clash blade against claws.

"Then there's you." Yvette continued and focused on the merchant. Going for a straight punch, Rantha ducked down. Carinamon nearly got himself clipped in the process. He's still good. Which is all that matters right now.

"I plan to own up to my crimes and work off my debt. However long that takes me." Rantha announced, gritting his teeth as he pulled his blade back. "I can't really do that if I'm dead and stuff."

Slashing Yvette's hand, his partner used this as his opportunity to sting the succubus. Uh… that isn't lethal right? All well good if you don't die. The same can be said about your opponent, sadly. So keep it clean.

"Fine." Carinamon, claws snapping about. Jumping off of Rantha's shoulder, he crossed over to Yvette. The initial claw grips aren't even noticed - the result of Yvette's armor protecting her from the brunt of the damage. Once he started going for the face, that was a far different story. Yvette definitely felt the full brunt of the feathered scorpion digimon's claws.

"You little fucker!" Yvette screeched and ripped Carinamon off, throwing him to the ground. Before she could get a chance to crush him, Yvonne got another gust off. Comboing right into a stab with the spike, this has to be the end of this… right? He's the only one who hasn't joined in is Bubbles. Which is mostly the result of his abilities not quite helping with everything else. Doesn't look to be a source of water in sight, on top of an accidental heal spelling a swift end to this fi-

"Fuse!" the little dragon announced, a blue outline forming around his body. Setting Phusitmon off to the side, his focus turned to Yvette. "Druplet!"

Bubbles closed his eyes, ignoring all the sounds echoing around him. A punch followed, his body jumping about the various puddles and icy motes until he landed right above the succubus's head. Dropping down, that has to hurt. Did get the dress absolutely dirty in the process. That can be cleaned at least.

"And you of all fuckers." Yvette screeched and picked Bubbles up. Smashing him down, it's right back up. Then again. And gain. Twisting the knife even further, she does it right in front of everyone. We don't try to kill you. Least you can do is share the same rules. But no, that's asking far too much from you. "Who the fuck thought it was okay to let you run about like there's nothing? I changed my mind. Better to kill the root of the problem now before you grow up and truly become a problem."

Biting down into the little dragon's back, it's really hard to watch. How the hell can you possibly think that biting into the back of a child is fucking okay? It isn't. Whatever crimes that

"Let go of my son, you bitch!" Maddie screeched and madly charged at the succubus. Grabbing hold of her armor, what looks to be the chest plate is ripped away. Doesn't have the same weight as what just happened. I don't think anything you could possibly do outside of stabbing this vile woman through the heart could possibly I have to congratulate you, Yvette. You've gone to a place no one would've thought you were even capable of. No, you had to go and take it a step too far. Nice job breaking it. Fuck it. YVETTE KIRJAW IS AN ABSOLUTELY AWFUL WOMAN WHO BEATS UP AND KILLS RANDOM PEOPLE FOR THE FUN OF IT. I said it. Eat shit and go off so far that so random beast eats you for a slow, painful death.

Ripping Bubbles out of this truly wonderful person's hands, Maddie made a beeline back over to Ella. The rest of our heroes follow right behind, making sure to grab the turret on the way out. How does he look?

"He'll live, but it's likely he'll never fly." Rantha muttered, Bubbles carefully reaching to where his little wings used to be. I'm sorry about this. No real use in harming myself over this. I'm not down there. A shame that we-

A large heart slammed into Yvette and knocked her into a nearby building. Of course that knocks the succubus over. Not the combined might of everyone. Wonderful.

"Enemy of justice, your days of villainy are over!" a voice called out, our heroes gaze's shifting well beyond the battlefield. A woman dressed in a pink minidress stands confidently on the roof building - a second face covering her head. "For you now face the full might of… The Hathran!"

Yvonne's gaze shot over to Rantha and Melody. A deep breath, followed by a sigh.

* * *

Notes:

And so brings the hathran into the fray. For the record, that isn't her final form. Not even close.

.

Next Time: The trial finally begins. Thank fuck.


	5. 73. The Catch

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Chapter 73

The Catch

Rantha wasn't completely sure where to begin with this. Already bad enough were down Bubbles by way of that truly wonderful person doing what they do best. But to have one of his co-workers to show up out of the blue? If they did somehow get to this farce of a trial, an uphill battle stacked against them awaited.

"What if we don't want to face your full wrath?" Blaze remarked as he walked over to Dave. Taking his place in front of the maid, he got a look from Rantha. Let's not be too hasty here. We're already worn down. No use in getting even more beat before the main event has even started. "Understood."

Doesn't really stop Dave's face from turning pink. A whisper followed, the favor repaid to the dancer. Somehow, it was even pinker than his boyfriend. I didn't even know that was possible.

"If you two are done showing your feelings in a public place, let us get down to business." the Hathran explained, her gaze turning away from Blaze & Dave and over to Yvonne of all people. "If you could be so kind as to allow my continued pummeling of this villian, I can promise there will be no destruction by my hand."

Everyone's gaze found its way over to this strange mage. Would this count as a contract or more of a loose deal that you're going to take advantage of in some nasty way down the road.

"What's the catch?" Ella remarked and got a confused look from the Hathran. Ignoring it, her attention turned to Bubbles. Hard at work repairing his wings, there still nowhere near being 'healed'. If one can really say that in his situation. Fuck. That was only mere minutes ago. But if I close my eyes, that's all I find staring back at me - a crazy demoness tearing off part of the child for the sake of their own twisted amusement. Sometimes I hate this job. Just have to fight it when I inevitably go to sleep. How are you holding up, Bubbles?

Bubbles looked up to the sky. Hands still behind his back, a single tear rolls down. Sorry about this. If I had kno-

The little dragon shook his head and pulled Phusitmon over. Whispering something to the plush rabbit digimon, a green outline formed around his little body.

"Infuse!" Phusitmon announced and walked around to Bubbles's back. Quite nice of the Hathran to be so patient with us as we deal with this mess. Uh thank you. Probably one of the few times I can say that with a straight face. "Mending!"

Focusing on the wounds, a couple bubbles shot out as our little dragon brought his hands down. It's a start with a long road to recovery. Each step is going to be awful, but you have friends beside you.

"Yep!" Bubbles announced, carefully turning his focus towards this strange mage. While they did save them from having to fight Yvette any further than they had already. At the same time, this lady was obviously part of Distant Harmony. Some ulterior motives were in play here. But we'll have to play along till that point.

"How fucking dare you." Yvette screeched and pulled herself back up. Claws still out, our truly wonderful person heading past our heroes to wherever the heck that trial place is supposed to be. Could've at least told us where the dang place was. But that's asking too much. Especially after being an utter piece of shit.

"Oh dear. Is this 'Yvette' person always like this?" the Hathran announced and jumped down from a nearby building. Walking over to the group, her attention shifted to that of Yvonne. Though, it's more on her khakkhara than the knight.

"You could say that." Yvonne answered and took a deep breath. "She's my mother and has a friend of mine accused of a murder they didn't do. While we appreciate your help, this is something that only we can solve."

The Hathran looked away, muttering something under her breath. Then it's right back to Yvonne.

"Are you so sure? This woman tried to eat a child." the Hathran countered as she pointed a finger towards Bubbles. "Yet, you're going to let her go free?"

Maddie walked over. Clearing their throat, they did their best to have some level of eye contact with this strange mage. Even if it did look like they were staring at the woman's waist than their head. Not much you could do about that.

"No, but killing her right now isn't the best move." the thief remarked and got a look from the Hathran. Ignoring it, their attention held upon their opponent. "That's an easy way to get run out of town without any chance of coming back."

An eye roll, the Hathran already gone. Okay… that wasn't exactly how I expected this to go. Just one more person to keep track of. What does that make it now? Uh… don't answer that question. I really don't want to think about it right now. Though, I'm guessing you have some inkling on wha-

_Returning infusion elements back to their respective owners._

Uh… thanks, DM? Is it weird to assume that it's DM of all people being the one behind all that. Or something they do without even knowing. Guess we'll need to ask them that the next time. Crud. I've gotten on a tangent. Sorry about that.

"I can understand that." Dave remarked and did a quick lap around Blaze. Judging by the lack of burns, ember should be gone. Digging through his pockets, out came the jar of burn cream. Coming to a stop, he got to carefully applying the cream on the dancer's hands. Once that is done, it's back into the dress it goes. Blaze's hands are looking slightly better. Much like Bubble's wings, this too has a long way to go for recovery. Hopefully we won't have any more trouble with that. But as I was sa-

"You want all the information I have on her. Not sure what I can do." Rantha remarked and looked up to the sky. "For as much time that I've spent on that stupid spaceship, I don't really kinow much about the other people there."

With everything you had going on in your sphere alone, that's perfectly understandable. Whatever you can tell us is more than enough to get us all started. The rest we'll need to play by ear and investigate till we have a complete picture of her.

The merchant nodded and cleared his throat. Just enough time for the rest of our heroes to make sure that their weapons were secured and that no one had the audacity to try spying on them. For now, Maddie carefully scooped Bubbles up. Not going to lie, you do look kind of silly cradling him in your arms. Maybe if one of you was somehow bigger, this wouldn't look like something out of a family's picture book.

"Like, he has a point." Kollmon pointed out and ran up beside her partner, getting a pet from our little dragon. A far cry from the usual hug, that was the best he could muster. Not that Kollmon really minded, giving Bubbles a pet in return. Then it's right back to staring at Rantha.

"Even though she was picked up before me, most of us thought she was some kind of myth." Rantha explained and closed his eyes. The empty street of the fortress faded from his vision, replaced with the sleek surfaces of the spaceship. Long before his path crossed ours. This particular night had been a rough one - far too many hours spent tossing and turning on the hopes of catching some semblance of sleep. Not quite desperate to throw into the towel, alternate solutions were necessary. And by alternate solutions, for once I don't mean self-harm. No, he was going to get himself a snack from the kitchen. Making sure to not wake up Carinamon, the Rantha slipped into the hallway. Trying his best to not make a sound, the constant feeling of being watched hung over him. No muttering how many times he looked back into the shadows of this stupid hallway, he could never escape it. Each step only made that feeling even stronger. He already had enough on his face. What gave this per- this entity the right to fuck with him. He had done nothing wrong (not counting the false memories and everything else that had yet to happen in Aldia), but they thought he most definitely had. Frankly, it was getting quite on his nerves. Bad enough his insomnia was kic-

"Mister, what do you think you're doing up at this hour." a voice called out, the artisan spinning around. Before him was a set of eyes. Far too many for a man such as him to count without booking it back to his room. If not for the fact that the eyes were blocking the place that he needed to get back too.

"To the kitchen?" Rantha whispered and the eyes got larger. Wrong answer. But how was he supposed to know that in the first place? He and Carinamon kept to themselves. Nothing in the provided handbook covered anything like this. Going to need to come up with something on the fly here. Digging into his pockets, of course he forgot his knife. The one time it would've actually helped here and he had left it behind. Unbelievable. What kind of person did that to themselves? He did. That's who. Nor did he grab any of his wares. No real use in beating himself up about that - light erupting forth around the eyes. Somehow, this still wasn't enough to illuminate whatever awaited in the dark. No, it just made the darkness even darker. Teeth joined the eyes, Fierce fangs fit only for the largest of beasts, the glint of massive claws more than capable of tearing his body apart. This was to be his end. Only a miracle could save him now. But those were in short supply in a place li-

A beam of energy shot out from further down the hall. Rantha jumped to his right, getting out of the way just in time. A loud hissing sound echoed about the hallway, the smell of a burning material I don't recognize coming right after. Smells absolutely awful. I don't think anyone would actually like that. Could be wrong.

"Sir, are you alright?" a voice called out, Rantha craving his vision around to meet this mysterious savior. A woman, dressed in the typical distant harmony cloak. Unlike Rantha's she had chosen to use the provided hood to cover the back of her head. As for the front, that was covered by a mask. Displaying the face of a young woman, it's an interesting choice. Has to be a pain in the butt to eat and drink anything. If they actually engage in those activities. Rumors of experiments into the properties of goodberry hung the entire time I was a student at the academy. They were usually followed by 'it's right around the corner' or some other phrase that sounded like that. Nothing ever did come out of that. If something had, I would only assume management wouldn't have hired a cannibal. But I've majorly gone off-topic.

"Uh… yeah." Rantha answered, trying his best to ignore the hissing and the awful smell. Doing his best to focus on this mysterious woman, his gaze fell upon another figure. Unlike the one in front of him, this figure was obscured by the darkness. The only reason Rantha had noticed her in the first place was the result of a tiny gleam reflected off of a wall. "I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Rantha."

The woman nodded and looked further down the hall. Whispering something under her breath, it's right back to the artisan. The hissing stopped and the strange smell dissipated into the air. Not completely certain those two events are really connected, but I'll keep an open mind.

"You can call me the Hathran." the woman answered, her mask shifting slightly. One can only wonder what face she was making there. "Now run along Rantha, you don't want to run into those creatures again."

Rantha nodded and slowly turned around. Even if this woman was telling the truth, that didn't explain what had just happened. A trick of the eyes? An illusion? Some mix of the two? Whatever the answer was, it's late and he just wanted to get back to his room. Maybe now sleep would finally take him in. Yeah. That sounded absolutely wonderful right now. Giving the Hathran and her mysterious partner a wave, the artisan turned around and headed for his room.

.

Back in the real world, Rantha's eyes fluttered open. I'm sorry if that was a bit too much on my part. Wasn't the int-

The merchant shook his head and carefully petted Carinamon. Anything else you can add to your partner's tale or do you want to leave it at that?

"Didn't we run into her partner when you went to grab Melody for the trip down to Aldia?" the feathered scorpion digimon remarked, Melody's gaze swiveling over. Give me a minute to look over my notes. It's been a while, okay? Just because I have a good memory doesn't mean that stuff doesn't fall through the cracks from time-to-time. Let's see here. Yeah. I don't think we got her name, outside of claiming to be an Angewomon. Didn't she grab that strange doll and take it somewhere? I don't think we saw her af-

"Maybe that's what you saw in the dark." Cinemon remarked, doing his best to focus on Rantha and Carinamon. Looking down to the feline dog digimon, he had positioned himself right in front of our pair. "Are these big dolls or small dolls?"

Rantha looked over to his partner. I don't think I wrote down the size of the doll, sadly. Though, it was decently sized. But that's judging by my narration more than anything.

"Humanoid-sized." the merchant answered and placed a hand by his neck. That sounds about right. Give or take a couple units of measurement.

"That would also explain why we haven't seen any more grunts." Melody added and looked over to Rantha. They're probably also wearing something similar to what the Hathran has on. Probably not in the same color. That's a tactic too clever for them. No offense to Rantha and Melody, of course. "None tak-"

Spinning around, the mystic looked about for her partner. But there was no sign of the lantern moth digimon. Huh. They're not the sort to just float off with any form of warning. Something has to be wrong with them. But what exactly? For the life of me, I can't really think of anything that would remotely set Lumosmon off. You got anything?

Melody took a deep breath and brought a hand up to her chin. The sickle within bounced about, but thankfully stayed within its pocket. Even as the mystic craned her head around to find the lantern moth digimon. For something that gives off a lot of light, it's kind of impressive how they've managed to stay hidden in this part of the fortress. Almost too impressive. What exactly got into our lantern moth digimon to prompt this response?

"Lumosmon, where have you gone?" she announced, the fluttering of little wings reaching down to the group. A variety of colors on full display, something has gotten them all riled up. Is it some kind of code? A message? Some mix of the two? Hopefully not the former. I never got the hang of the code unscramble spells. Only ever worked on codes that were absolutely simple. Not very useful in any other situation.

"We really need to figure out what they're saying." Yvonne remarked and stopped, her focus turning to Melody. Pretty obvious what our knight has in mind for here. Your call here. Sooner or later we are going to have to solve this. Odd as it sounds, right before the trial is as good of a time as any to make some

The mystic took a deep breath and looked over to Lumosmon, eyelids sliding shut. Concentrating for a couple seconds, she tried her best to block out as much external noise as possible - all in the hopes of reaching out to her partner's mind in the hope that they would maybe answer back in some fashion. But all the mystic got was crackling of electricity. Flashes of color occasionally popped out, random and without any meaning. No attempts at creating shapes or any images. What purpose could they serve? Is this how they think? A way of processing information into a format that only they can understand? Crud. I'm getting off-topic here. My bad.

'Familiar.'

A single word, piercing through the static and colors of Lumosmon's mind and into Melody's. Good to know we can 'communicate' with them now, but in regards to what? Yvette? The Hathran? Some other factor that we haven't quite discovered yet? So many questions without an answer. Just a normal day of this job. I hate how true that is.

Lumosmon didn't answer and Melody's eyes were forced open. I can see why we didn't try this earlier. Quite a strain on both ends. Hopefully that doesn't bite us in the butt during the trial.

"Melody, are you all alright?" Cinemon remarked and got a nod from the mystic. Looking back to her partner, they were now heading over. Carefully, she reached out for the lantern moth digimon. Lumosmon floated back and shined a bright shade of red on all sides of their body.

"I get that you're not happy with me reading your mind." Melody remarked and looked at her partner. Compared to everyone else, her bond with Lumosmon wasn't anything close to their teammates. Give it time. You've just need to find the right way to communicate with them. The rest is pretty easy. Or at least, not as daunting of a task to accomplish.

Melody gave a thumbs-up, turning her focus away from Lumosmon and back over to Yvonne and company. Ignoring the mixed messages gained from your partner, that's still progress. Not very focused progress, a step in the right direction. Just need to figure out how it fits into everything else we know.

"That's one way to look at this." Carinamon remarked and watched the mystic walk over. Even with Lumosmon keeping his distance, shouldn't need to worry about him getting kidnapped out of nowhere. Hopefully. It hasn't happened yet, but let's not test that theory. "Agreed."

Leaving behind the area of our big battle with Yvette, silence fell over the alleyways. Out in the distance, Yvette stood in an entirely different open area. Unlike the one we're now leaving, the people over by Maddie's safehouse had been put in large booths. Guess that's where this trial of ours is going down. Judging by the nods I'm getting well before I even ask the question. Let's prove Maddie's innocence.

* * *

Notes:

Last chapter of 2020. Not quite the plan, but I like how this turned out.

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Next Time: The trial. For real this time.


	6. 74: Opening Arguments

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Chapter 74

Opening Arguments

This is it. The trial. A shame that it required going through that mess just to reach this moment. I'm guessing you all have a decent understanding how these things work?

"Yes." Maddie answered, letting out a deep breath. Shifting their grip on Bubbles, effort is made to not look at Yvette. Easier said than done when she's front and center and trying her best to glare at us. Not very effective. Can't be biting into people's backs all the time. Or threatening to murder people. Sometimes both at the same time. "We're here! Are we ready to get this over with? Because I'm just about done with you."

Yvette rolled her eyes and continued to stand in the middle of this arena. I wonder who's going to be our judge. Probably her, even if that would mean there's a huge amount of bias on the part of those who still believe that Madame was the one who killed Shiv. If it isn't her, then who else could it be? We don't really have anyone who can be a truly neutral party to mediate this. Even if we did, what are the odds that they would be willing to lend a hand against someone like Yvette here. Not without something that would bring bias in our favor. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what our truly wonderful person has to say for herself.

Approaching the trial proper, caution is taken with each step. With one major bout mere minutes before, the chance of a second fight is just as likely.

"Good to see you're not complete cowards." Yvette muttered, her attention focused on Yvonne. Something very, very, inappropriate exited her lips. You're really going there? At least wait till the trial starts before slinging mud at your former daughter. Or are you already at wits end even before this mess you wanted has even begun?

"If anything, you're the biggest coward here." Phusitmon countered, just peeking out from behind Maddie's back. Climbing up to the thief's shoulder, it's close enough to get eye contact with this truly wonderful person. Not that Yvette was even attempting to do the bare minimum to satisfy that. No, she's still staring at the very woman who straight-up disowned her. Said woman isn't even looking back. No, her gaze is currently scanning the crowd for someone. Eventually, it comes to a stop. A sigh of relief exited her lips, focus finally turning to Yvette. "You can at least look at us when we talk."

There's no response. No, the wonderful person had their focus on the people around her. Staring her down, nothing is said. Then it's right back to our group. No real use in delaying the inevitable. Especially when said inevitable involves the future of this town.

"Has the judge arrived at least?" Cinemon announced, the group closing the distance on their opponent. Hands near their weapons, just in case this is where we get jumped today.

"Of course the judge has arrived." Yvette countered and glanced behind herself. Not entirely sure what exactly she's looking at. Maybe they're bringing everyone chairs or something. The expectation can't be for you all to be standing the entire time.

"I don't know. Sounds like the sort of torture Yvette would want for us to partake in." Balamon remarked and slithered his way up Blaze's leg and over to his left arm. Once there, the flame snake digimon got himself comfortable. Well, comfortable as one could get wrapping their body around someone's arm and holding on for dear life. The chairs could be the most uncomfortable ones this judge could find. Slightly better than having no chair to sit on, but not by much.

"You should've brought your own chairs." Yvette countered, a low whistle echoing about the trial area. Looking to the northern end, a figure draped in robes approached. Can't really make out their face from here. Well, I hope that they have a face at least. Be awfully difficult for them to judge a trial if they didn't.

"I most definitely do have a face." the figure announced and pulled the hood of their robe away. An elvish man, they look to be well-traveled. Not that I can say I've seen you before. A bit odd that I'm just finding out about you. Do you have a name or anything or is it just… Judge? I'm fine either way. You just need to tell me. "Judge is more than good enough."

Nods all around, Judge taking this as his opportunity to walk to his designated position. Standing up straight, this is probably the best angle I'm going to be able to get on him. Heck of a lot shorter than one would expect. But with all the tall people around them, that's to be expected. As for the face, a pair of hazel eyes were framed by blonde hair. Yet, I feel like there's something there. Probably a trick of my ey- Of course I'll pet you. What makes you think I've somehow forgotten about you? Silly Salamon. Yes, I'll give you one more pet. There, better now? Good. As I was saying, they look nice enough. Whether or not that's actually the case remains to be seen.

"Is that the last person we need?" Munbimon remarked and looked at Maddie. Carefully setting Bubbles down, their attention turned to their partner. Whispering something to just the gale mole digimon, they get a nod in return. Once they're done, their attention turns to Yvette.

"People of Aldia, I have an announcement to make!" Maddie called out and watched the people of Aldia turn to them. "I am not Madame von Strauss."

Gasps echoed across the stands, mumblings echoing within.

"I'm kind of surprised that everyone thinks this is somehow a major revelation." Melody remarked, hands on her mask. Just in case. Could easily go south. But let's not jump to conclusions before Maddie has a chance to say their piece.

"The last Madame von Strauss died by the hands of her own servants, left with all her other predecessors in the sewers to rot away. Which is why I ask you just two things." Maddie continued, their gaze still split between all parties. "First, I'm a they. Not a he or she. Secondly, I wish to be called Maddie. Is that clear to you people. I'm not her. Never was, never will be."

Silence fell over the crowd, everyone waiting for someone else to somehow respond. A war of an eventual response.

"If that's what they want, I think I can do that." a person announced, their friend nodding in agreement. That started the chain. Voices joined in, the sound obviously traveling well beyond that of the trial and to the people congregating well beyond the fortress. Whether or not

"Object-" Yvette started, only to find the end of Maddie's whip right at her feet. Grabbing hold, an attempt at pulling the thief over followed. No dice. Or whatever people say here. Close enough.

"Shove it up your ass." the thief remarked, their focus turning to Judge. "Uh… sorry about that. She's been a completely awful leader and been nothing but rude to her people."

Judge rolled his eyes and clapped his hands. Whatever works for you here? Kind of hard to hear it over everyone talking.

"Uh… you don't have a hammer or anything?" Cinemon remarked and got a shrug from Judge. "You do realize you're standing in the middle of an active construction site. Someone is bound to have something close to a hammer for you to use in your judging."

Going by the look this elf is giving you, that thought didn't come to them until now. Looking about the crowd, an attempt at asking for a hammer followed. While I can't really hear the responses, he looks to be successful - an orc very carefully dropping their tool of choice onto the ground. Judge ran over and picked the tool up. Walking back over to his original position, he smashed the hammer into the ground. That got everyone's attention.

"Order in the court! Order in the court!" Judge announced, his focus turning to Maddie. "Do you have anything else you wish to disclose to the court before the trial begins?"

Maddie shook their head. Pulling the rest of their whip from Yvette's hands, they set the weapon back to their side. Once that's done, the thief reaches out for Ella's hand. Grabbing hold, they got a tight squeeze in return. More than enough to celebrate their announcement.

"Good. The prosecution has the floor." Judge remarked and turned to Yvette. The truly wonderful person gave a nod and took the time to clear her throat. Guess we'll have to listen to whatever garbage she has to say. That's how these things usually go.

"Don't let her announcement fool you." Yvette started, daggers glared her way from multiple sides. Good to know you were totally listening earlier. "Shiv's death was most definitely the result of her greed for money and wish for complete extermination of those who control Aldia."

What.

"She can't be serious." Dave mumbled and looked to Yvonne. The knight let out a sigh. She's very much serious about this. There's not really a good way to fight this.

"Better to let her incriminate herself than to argue against stupid." Cinemon added and got a pet from Yvonne. Leaning into the affection, one eye remained focused on Yvette. Still babbling, at least now without bringing up the person's former gender.

"Objection!" Maddie shouted, their gaze already on Judge. The elf raised his hammer up and slammed the tool into the pavement. That's a touch excessive. Even for the situation we are currently having to deal with by way of this truly wonderful person.

"Ms Kirjaw, Maddie has asked to be referred to as a 'they', not a her." Judge announced and looked towards Yvette. Already muttering something under her breath, she was taking the announcement as well as a truly wonderful person would.

"Awfully?" Bubbles whispered and got a nod from his partner. Turning away, the little dragon did a tiny bit of repair work to his back. Good of a time as any while Yvette gets ready for whatever asinine statement she has for us next.

"As I was saying, the motive for Shiv's death was a robbery gone wrong." Yvette continued and looked at Maddie. The thief looked back, keeping silent for now. Staring each other down. Who is going to be the first to blink. The answer as it turns out, would be Yvette. Not that this lasted particularly long. Nor was there really any awkward silent to go with this showdown. "For someone as rich as you, it wasn't enough. You just needed to have it all."

Her words roll out, Maddie's gaze shifting to the ground. For all the treasures housed within their manor, the full extent of the collection had remained away from prying eyes for who knows how long. Eyes sliding shut, they found themselves on the upper floor of the manor. A child back then, they had just passed the paintings of their predecessors. One day, their image would join the rest in glory. That's what the maids claimed at least. They always looked to have some idea on what needed to happen. Though, they also had left part of the boards blocking off a hallway off - a perfect opportunity for someone like them to slip through and look. Dress be damned. Pushing through the hole, the future thief found themselves in a hallway. Doors lined both sides, nameplates right beside them. Sadly, the amount of dust that covered them prevented Maddie from actually reading them. Not that their reading skill was particularly good to begin with. A fact that wasn't going to stop them from looking anyway. Slowly approaching the first door, the future thief reached up towards the knob. Twisting it open, all it took was a light push. On the other side, they found themselves staring down an empty room. What looked to be a couple gold coins are all that sits on the dust-covered floor. As for the walls, there looks to be a couple spots for what they can only assume to be paintings being the only place of a difference of color. If you can count the brown offered here as a 'difference'. Was this a place of immense hoard? A place to keep vast amounts of wealth? A shadow of its former purpose. But where had it all gone in the first place? Were the other rooms also in a similar state as th-

The thief's eyes open up before I'm able to finish asking my question. This to-do list of ours is getting longer and longer. Might want to nip that in the bud soon.

"We're well aware of that." Ella muttered and looked over to her girlfriend. Hand held out, Maddie leaves it be. Instead, their attention turns back to Yvette. Unlike the prior staredown, Yvette doesn't even look towards them. Instead, it's the judge who is now getting her full attention. Not sure if that's any better.

"No, definitely not." Phusitmon remarked and carefully got back onto his partner's back. Making sure to leave Bubbles' wounds alone, time is taken to smooth out his maid outfit. Definitely a spare in order. Though, it's held up quite well for everything that's been thrown at it. "Thanks."

Happy to help.

"Ms Kirjaw, the defense needs a chance to tell their side of the story." Judge explained and got an eye roll from our truly wonderful person. Shifting his attention away from her, it's over to Maddie and company. "You have the floor."

I leave this part to you. No matter what you say, I'll stand by with you every step of the way. For better or worse. Don't mess this up. Nods all around. You have the floor.

"People of Aldia, what Yvette claims is false." Yvonne started and stepped forward. Focusing on the crowd, she made sure to wait a couple seconds for everyone to focus on her. Once the knight was certain they were, she cleared her throat. "Contrary to the picture painted, what really happened is surprisingly simple."

Another pause, this one more a chance for everyone to make sure that a certain someone doesn't try to interject. Looking over to Ella, the artificer gave a nod. Taking a couple steps forward, Maddie was right behind. Whip still at their side, focus on Yvette. No sudden moves needed. Even in the face of this odd situation.

"Shiv faked his own death under the guise of a robbery gone wrong in the hopes of running off with a secret lover. A deception that has gone on for far longer than perhaps most of us have been willing to admit to perpetuating." Ella explained, Yvette raising an eyebrow. Ignoring her behavior, the artificer's gaze stayed on the crowd. The murmurs were getting louder now, almost threatening to break out and overwhelm those who wished to speak. Not that both parties would quite allow for that to happen. "Now, it is time for change to come over Aldia. Madame is innocent in the frivolous circumstances brought about by an as frivolous ruler."

Her words roll out, Yvette's gaze swiveling over to the artificer. Laughter echoed forth from her mouth, none of it actually funny. At all.

"That's your defense? You have to be kidding me." Yvette announced as she turned around to face the crowd. "Are you really going to believe a word that comes out of their mouth. They are all clearly sick."

Almost in response to that, Bubbles walked over to his mother. Raising a claw up, a very careful healing touch followed. Doesn't look to have done anything. Moving onto Maddie, he repeated the process.

"Thank you, dear." Maddie cooed, wrapping their arms around the little dragon in a loose hug. Bubbles made sure to return the favor. Even if his hug was a bit tighter than Maddie's. Breaking away, he moved onto Kollmon. Same procedure as before, with Cinemon coming next. Same result, even if it did look more like a pet than an actual touch.

"Good to go." Bubbles announced and walked over to Blaze, Dave and Balamon. Much like the previous people, another round of healing touch. Balamon did need to slither down from his perch in order to get this treatment. Once he had, the flame snake digimon scurried his way up to his spot and carefully wrapped his way around Blaze's arm. Taking one more look at Bubbles, the little dragon was making his way to Yvonne and Munbimon.

"Uh… this won't harm me, right?" Munbimon whispered and watched Bubbles shrug. Guess we're about to put that to the test. Reaching out to the ghost monkey digimon, Bubbles's claw carefully touched Munbimon's head. One small problem. The claw phased right through. Crap. "I did feel something tingly. So maybe it worked?"

Bubbles nodded, bringing his hand down. Walking over to Yvonne, this is thankfully a much easier procedure to perform. Even with the armor preventing direct contact and Yvonne taking this as her opportunity to get in a head rub for the little dragon. Not that Bubbles minded. Heading on, he made a beeline over to Rantha and Carinamon. Before he could get a chance to perform his task, Rantha scooped him up into a hug. Carinamon rolled his eyes. You're just jealous of the affection Bubbles is getting.

"I don't see how this helps us." the feathered scorpion digimon muttered, watching Bubbles do the healing touch on Rantha. Shifting his little body around, it was now time for his checkup. Shame that this situation is so serious. Don't get me wrong, it needs to be. But I can't be the only one who wanted a bit more downtime. Hindsight is 20/20. Something along those lines.

Setting Bubbles down, our little dragon took time to make sure that Phusitmon was also there. He was. Then it's right off to Melody and Lumosmon. The latter is definitely going to be a challe-

Climbing up the mystic's kimono with the utmost care, Bubbles carefully touched the area below her choker. Same result as all the others. Which just left Lumosmon. Of course, the lantern moth digimon needed to play hard to get. You're the last one. Hold still long enough so he can get his touch in. Not asking for much from you. Just get closer, you stupid giant ball of li-

A variety of colored light bounced about the lantern moth's sides, coming awfully close to blinding Melody in the process. Thankfully, the mystic looked away at the last second. Bubbles wasn't as lucky. Try as he might to look away, the little dragon found himself mesmerized by the bright lights. Fuck. Hanging onto Melody's kimono, he carefully climbed his way back up Melody's neck and looked towards Lumosmon. While the light had stopped, that still doesn't mean you're off the hook. Far from it, in fact. You're dragging this out for some reason. Why?

The lantern moth digimon didn't answer. Instead, they flashed red across all sides for the second time today. Anger, perhaps?

"Lumosmon…" Melody remarked and jumped up into the air, the sleeves of her kimono managing to grab hold of her partner. Bubbles was taken along for the ride. Hanging on for dear life, no sign of any injuries. Good to see. "I can't have you doing to me. So please let Bubbles do his work."

Lumosmon shifted slightly, letting the little dragon do his magic. There are a bit more lights displayed. These are less the angry type - more confused and annoyed about the whole procedure. A fitting description to the clusterfuck that we've been forced to deal with.

"Everyone is healthy." Bubbles whispered, climbing down Melody's kimono. Back on solid ground, he made his way over to his partner. Picking him up, Phusitmon slid his way around to the back. Getting into position, Bubbles headed for Yvette of all people.

"What are you doing?!" Blaze shouted, his words falling on deaf ears as the little dragon continued his journey towards our very wonderful person. Coming to a stop mere feet away, off comes Phusitmon. What sounded like a whisper followed, a response that got a slap to our little dragon's face from his partner. Oh dear.

"Infuse!" Phusitmon announced and watched the seafoam green outline form around his little body. What exactly do you have in mind here? "Mending!"

**Mending Bubble!**

Shooting a couple bubbles out, the projectiles float over to Yvette. Popping on contact, a burning sound followed. Turning back around, the pair made a beeline back towards the rest of the team. Not without Yvette attempting to swing at them. No dice.

"Don't do that again." Maddie whispered and got a nod from the little dragon. Focusing back on Yvette, she doesn't appear too happy. What? When you come scarily close to murder it's okay, but when someone take the time to see if you're completely healthy… it's not? I don't think I completely follow that line of thinking. Even if I somehow did, that's definitely not the response you want to give as the leader of a town. At all.

"Is there anything else the defense wishes to do?" Judge called out, our heroes taking a breath and looking among each other. Head shakes all about. "Good. The prosecution has the floor."

* * *

Notes:

The trial begins. Not going to lie, I'm glad to finally get to this point. Once the trial has concluded, my focus will temporarily return to Vol 1 to finish all the editing that needs to be done there.

.

Next Time: Yvette presents her case. It goes as well as you think it would.


	7. 75: Jezza's Story Pt 1

I don't own digimon.

* * *

To say that Yvette was more than ready for this moment was perhaps an overstatement. It's very clear she has taken the time to come up with her story. Along with all the insults, mood swings and other truly wonderful activities you get off on.

"Go fuck yourself." she announced and got a laugh from Rantha. Turning to the merchant, what looks like a scowl is now on her face. Could just be how her face gets normally. Quite a big day. Getting disowned by own daughter, attempting a little cannibalism (which I really hope catches up to you further down the line) and misgendering. All totally wonderful things that are totally traits of a leader and not a monster. What do I know? Just a narrator.

"Tried that. Didn't really work." Rantha answered, carefully petting Carinamon's back. The feathered scorpion digimon leaned into the gesture, doing his best to not sting his partner. The merchant thankfully kept his digits away from those parts. After, his focus returned to Yvette. "You're either going to have to learn to live with him or find some way to tune out his rambling. It's his job to give a play by play of the events going down. Whatever you say is not going to change that in the slightest."

Shifting her focus away from Rantha, Yvette focused back on Judge. Clearing her throat, she tried to keep her pupils from wandering. Don't think that's a victory. Close. Not quite all the way there. Even if it somehow, she still would find some way that allowed her to look at Maddie and glare. Truly petty. Distracting too.

"To begin with, I bring Jezza Silk to the stand." the very wonderful person announced, the shopkeeper succubus entering stage left. For someone whose main job is to clothe people, it almost looks like she's been holding back on those around us. Might keep that in mind. "Jezza, look to Madame. Is she the one who snuffed out your husband?"

Jezza looked to Maddie and bent down. Arm pulled back, a large chunk of street is flung forward. For as awful of a throwing arc you got there, the fact that you thought you were above the law and allowed to just destroy the street. Unbelievable. Leave.

"Objection. My name is Maddie." Maddie announced and focused on Jezza. While the chunk landed nowhere near them, that's another assassination attempt. Or would this be a fight. There isn't much of a difference. Unless we're counting the method to reach the end result. "Secondly, don't even think about it. This is a trial, not a battleground."

Jezza rolled her eyes, running over to pick up her concrete. Thankfully, our thief's whip was more than enough to bring it out of harm's way. Once it was, their attention turned to Yvonne.

"Where the heck is security?" Cinemon muttered and scanned the sky. From the look of things, I can just make out the weird succubus thing from earlier. Hi there. Could you maybe be a friend and escort this lady out? She just tried to kill someone. No response. Darn it. Worth a shot.

"Marulyn, I need your help here." Yvonne announced, only to feel a tap to her back. Spinning around, it's here we find our elven mage. A deep breath followed, her gaze shifting to Yvette for the briefest of moments before returning to her beloved Yvonne. Definitely caught a look of the damage done. Held up remarkably well. Maybe think about starting your own business? Yvonne can't be the only one who needs a proper suit of armor.

Marulyn's cheeks turned pink. Taking a second to compose herself in the face of unexpected praise, it's right back to looking at Yvonne.

"Yvette is no longer my mother. Not if I have a say in this." Yvonne whispered, only to be pulled in by the arms of her girlfriend. What looked to be a 'tight' (by Marulyn's standards) hug followed. In turn, Yvonne did the same to her girlfriend. Heck of a lot looser. No real use in snapping your girlfriend in half after she repaired your armor again.

"Gotcha. Does that mean…" Marulyn continued, Yvonne shaking her head. Letting go of her girlfriend, she took a step back. Only to find their lips meeting once more. Passion surged through their body, the scent of cherries wafting over to our knight. Unlike all the other times, it felt as if she could reach out and grab some. Those were the times - running about the cherry orchards, picking cherries from the recently flowered, eating those cherries and then spitting out the pits and then running off to play some more. What she would give to return to those days. Back then, it didn't matter if there were people who weren't happy with the arrangement of the clan. They shouldn't have pushed the way that they did. No, the only thing that mattered was her and Marulyn. Not even Yvette. Still out of the picture, being someone else's problem. More specifically, whatever random people she had wished to subj-

A loud thud echoed about from Yvette's back. The couple ended their embrace, the piece of road once more at their feet. For fuck sake. Can you go just a couple minutes without doing something incredibly stupid that doesn't self-incriminate yourself? It's not difficult. I promise you it'll make your case a hell of a lot stronger. And not, I don't know, look like an absolute lunatic without a heart that might also be a zombie. Phew. Needed to get that out of my head as I watched this incredible stupidity play out. Just ignore me for the moment.

"The vomiting motions were also very uncalled for." Munbimon added, carefully landing on Yvonne's shoulder. Focusing on Marulyn, a slight head pat followed. Okay. Was not expecting that of all gestures. "Can you get that friend of yours down?"

Marulyn's gaze shot up to the sky. Focusing on the succubus, a whistle followed. That's the magic trick, catching their attention and slowly descending down to solid ground. Gazing towards Rantha and Melody, a head pat from their creator brings their attention back over. Said attention is more staring than anything verbal. Don't tell me Yvette has already taken a swing at her too before we even got here?

Marulyn shook her head and walked a small circle around the succubus. Coming to a stop right by their ear, a whisper followed. Getting a nod, it's back up into the air. Except now, she was floating right above Yvette and Jezza. Uh… that's a step in the right direction. I'm guessing she'll be able to react should anything stupid happen. Like people throwing chunks of earth because their narrative doesn't match up with the reality of the situation or biting off people's wings. Sorry. That's assault. The fact that I have to repeat myself is just one more sign of your ability to just not grasp this situation as a leader.

"Ignore him. He's obviously getting something from them." Yvette answered and turned to Jezza. Whispering something incredibly rude and dishonest under her breath, Jezza's focus turned to the court audience.

"On that particular night, I headed off to my shop after my husband hadn't returned." Jezza started, eyes sliding shut. Gone is the court, replaced by the night streets of Aldia. Lit by lanterns, her pace picking up as she passed through the gate of the fortress. The streets are a lot different than what we have now. Just passing by the place where Blaze and Dave's house would stand is just an empty lot. Covered in weeds and other plants, not even the town has stretched out to reach this point. A fleeting moment in time, signaled even further by the presence of candles on posts. Far of a cry from the lanterns that now line this place today. Passing right by, our next landmark is that of the Black Cat Inn. Standing tall as it did before Rantha's bomb blew it to smithereens, all is silent within. The last of the travelers has checked in, allowing for the current innkeeper to head for bed. Already sleeping the night away, they pay no attention to the seamstress passing right by their window. In turn, Jezza paid no mind to the super secret safe house of Madame von Strauss. All the valuables locked up, only a single soul knew the location of all their most precious treasures. No gold, no jewels. But the true treasures of Aldia. Whatever those might be. If they even exist for that matter. No, our seamstress's attention has turned too to the shopping district itself. Just a little bit further. This had to be where she would find Shiv. After, they would have a little laugh and then go on with their night back home. Maybe even have something nice to drink. Each step she took to the shop brought with it a funny feeling. The kind one got when they were about to go horribly wrong. She had heard stories of what awaited during the days of war. Booby traps and armed mobs, keenly intent on ripping anyone dumb enough to think they could reclaim the land that they believed was there's. When in fact they had been given it on the pretense of borrowing it from the clan. Why they didn't understand that fact was not something Jezza really dwelled on. No, her mind was racing with possibilities of what could've happened to her husband. Had he been jumped by an assailant? Left to die by way of a robbery gone wrong? Some mix of the two? The possibilities were theoretically endless and thinking about them only made it worse.

"Shiv, are you in there?" Jezza called out, waiting a couple moments for a response. But all the seamstress received was silence. Not even the flicker of a candle light fighting to stay lit or the wind tempting to snuff it out before the night ended. Twisting the knob of the door about, it opened without a struggle. Odd. Time was taken hours before in the hopes of making sure

Pushing through the unlocked door, she found herself inside the clothing store. Lines of garments welcomed her back in, all of which rife for the taking by any would-be thieves. But everything was exactly where she had left it. If anything, it was almost as if someone had gone through the trouble of making sure to clean up further after Jezza had left. Shifting her gaze about, Shiv was most definitely there. But why was he hiding? She couldn't even remember any recent arguments or squabbles the couple had. Things were for once looking up. The last time she could say that was when Yvette took control of the main town. That felt like an eternity ago. Even if that occurred a bit before her daughter's birth. Never in her life had she seen a woman so uninterested in the birth of their own child. The fact that she was even able to have a child was a miracle in itself. Alongside Mrs Gold's kid, the future was looking bright (oh the irony in that thought) for Aldia. Maybe once a couple other mothers have children, they could have a school or something. Yeah. That sounded nice. Whether or not one Madame von Strauss would comply with such restrictions was the major hurdle. For as long as the Strauss lived in this town, they held the final say when it came to any major developments. Perhaps that was why Yvette had not made any strides to chan-

Jezza came to a stop, her thought pushed out in place of something far more concerning. Before her laid the body of Shiv. A large knife plunged into his back, the culprit nowhere to be found. Odder still, was the bag of gold lying partially opened beside him. Looking within, Jezza got to counting. The one flipping time she put anything close to a thought about that whore, she had to go and strike her husband down. The nerve of that bitch. Wasn't the damages more than enough for her? Or did she need to take even more just to satisfy whatever fucked up desires existed within that little body of hers. Looking about the body, her gaze came upon a note. Marked with a red flower, this couldn't be good. It never was.

Picking it up, a quick examination followed.

Just taking out the trash and moving it around. I hope you don't mind.

Jezza's eyes slowly opened up, finding herself back in the court. Welcome back. If you're wondering why your memories felt a bit more vivid than they were the last time you told that story, that would be me. I do hope that means we're even now. Even if that doesn't justify the throwing of parts of the road at the defendants because you believe them to be guilty. Am I making myself clear enough here?

Jezza looked to the sky, muttering something to herself. Close enough.

"How much gold was taken from the bag when you checked?" Yvette barked, the seamstress's gaze swiveling over to her. Taking a moment to get composed, a bit of mental math followed. There are limits to the things that can be displayed through narration. Individual coins being one of them. If I have an exact count, it's easy. But if I have to play it by ear (or eye), then it's likely I'll be off. Not enough for most to notice, but still not be close to the actual amount. Not my intention. Just how it happens.

"When I closed up shop, I had just under a hundred gold." Jezza answered, shooting Maddie a glance before returning to looking at Yvette. "When I found Shiv's body, it was closer to around eighty gold."

Yvette nodded, now her turn to stare at Maddie. A grin on her face, tempting fate right there. If that's what you wish to do, I'm not going to put a stop to that. You'll have to live with the consequences when the dust settles.

"Now tell me, where exactly is the missing gold?" she announced, Maddie not even looking her way. Instead, the thief was using Kollmon to scratch something into the road. An interesting use of the gale mole digimon's claws. I'm going to assume you asked first before getting your partner to scratch the street. Challenging to see from here, looks to be numbers. Turning to Rantha, the merchant swiveled around. Taking some time to examine the numbers and do the math in his head, his attention turned to Jezza.

"Objection! The number of gold in question is well within the margin of error." Rantha announced, Yvette's focus turning to him. Slanderous remarks echoing from her mouth, all of which very much not nice and to extent accusatory of sexual acts that I'm more than certain our merchant here would never engage in. False memories or not. "Let me guess. Something involving being around a bunch of children, doing questionable acts?"

Uh… yes. I'm guessing that was a problem back on your world or something? I know the place was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but still. That's awfully fucked up. No child deserves to be treated that way. No justification in this or any other world is a good enough reason to go through with that. Ever.

"Do you have anything else you wish to say, Yvette?"

The merchant's words rolled out, our wonderful person looking to him. Claws out, she took a step forward. Judge slammed his hammer down, his call for peace falling on deaf ears. No, Yvette had taken this as her opportunity to exact more blood for this senseless crusade. We're not asking much. We just need you to go a couple minutes without causing an incident. A simple task. But we had too much faith in your ability to be patient.

"I will not take anything from a member of distant harmony." Yvette announced and glared at her opponent. Rantha didn't flinch, choosing instead to dig into his pockets. A clump of green came out. Fuck. Please tell me that's not what I think that is.

"Do you wish for your people to have to repeat the same nightmares that have haunted them already?" Rantha answered as Carinamon scurried his way off of the merchant's shoulder and down to the street. "Because we can do that."

Yvette rolled her eyes and took another step forward. Claws still out, she is dead set on hurting our merchant. Marulyn's succubus thing was already heading over. But it might be too late. These two are going to blows and all that can be done is to contain the damage.

"Rantha…" Melody remarked, reaching into her kimono. Mask coming out, the mystic made sure to keep it close to her chest. Looking about, it is a simple matter to sneak away. I leave you to prepare. As for the rest of our heroes, weapons came out. In the case of Bubbles, he got behind Dave. Not exactly the person I would've gone with here, whatever makes you safe.

"If your death is enough to send a message to your employers, I really don't care." Yvette answered and went for a strike. Met by the scimitar, the ball of green held firm in our merchant's hands. But for how long, that remains to be seen.

**Carina Sting!**

Slamming his stinger into Yvette's armor, what acid that the feathered scorpion digimon was able to call forth managed to create some damage. Not even close to actually causing structural damage - more a tickle. Still enough to throw our wonderful person off.

"The message you're sending is one that is only going to make my former boss respond even harder in the future if you off me." Rantha answered, his grip on the clump tightening. Throwing caution to the wind, he went for a kick to the leg. Boot met armor, the result somehow not shattering his foot. Instead, Yvette found herself knocked back. Enough that our succubus thing could grab hold and pull her back over to Jezza. Once there, the next couple minutes involved holding Yvette still. Just on the off chance she broke loose and decided to lash out yet again at the people who expected her to lead them into the future.

"I don't even want to imagine that kind of future." Cinemon remarked and found himself treated to a pet from Rantha. Back into the coat that strange green clump goes. Looking over to his previous opponent, his focus was already turning to Maddie. A deep breath followed. Attaching the scimitar to his belt, he made sure to kneel back down to be at their level.

"Glad that I didn't have to use that." the merchant remarked and got treated to a look from Maddie. Putting their whip away, a little punch to the leg followed. An action that Rantha accepted for the moment. Even if it was then followed by looks from both Ella and Yvonne. "Okay. That clump wasn't the same as the one that tore the fortress apart. I have no plans to go that far. Not that our friend over there knows that."

Phew. I don't think anyone of you really wants a repeat of that. The only people who do are that of Distant Harmony. Not a thing we want right now.

"Continue, Miss Silk." Yvette muttered, the succubus finally letting go of our wonderful person. Turning her focus back to Maddie, a chuckle exited her lips. Still don't think this is funny. Actually, this is quite the opposite. You should be taking this so seriously that even the littlest of jokes would get you kicked out and not allowed reentry.

"I'm very much with Mister on that." Cinemon added and took a step forward. Or four steps. Never completely sure when it comes to animals. Digimon or regular. But I digress. "Ms Kirjaw, even the prosecutor is expected to be held to the same standards as everyone else. Your behavior has been immature. If this were a legitimate courtroom, you would be barred. Permanently. Am I clear?"

Yvette remained silent, choosing instead to tap her foot against the street. All it got her was a glance from Jezza. Letting out a deep breath, she doesn't even look to Maddie. Instead, her focus turned to Rantha. A stink eye followed. Interesting choice, but I can see where it came from. Didn't do anything to Rantha, even as Carinamon made his way back up to his perch.

* * *

Notes:

Due to the size of this chapter, it had to be split in two. Sorry about the delay.

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Next Time: The prosecution continues with one or two more bombshells.


	8. 76: Jezza's Story Pt 2

I don't own digimon.

* * *

With Yvette's tantrum now hopefully defused, one would expect that to be the end of the prosecution's case. Sadly, that would be too much of a reprieve for the other parties. No, the prosecution still had more to say about their very flawed case and how everything comes together in a way that totally doesn't look like something staged to frame someone. Oh wait.

"Tell me about it." Balamon muttered and looked over to Carinamon. Still in the process of getting comfortable in his spot, his attention still on Yvette. Claws clicking about, quite a bit pissed. Though, I would save your frustrations for when she truly messes up and gives us an opening. Bide your time.

Carinamon nodded and set his claw down. The glaring is still happening, but it's now a lot less noticeable. Sadly, the same can't be said to the death glares Yvette has taken to giving Maddie. The same could be said to you going forward. Last thing we need is you throwing another petty fit because reality doesn't match up with what you're claiming.

Looking up to the sky for the briefest of moments, another string of wonderful language exited Yvette's lips. For the records, I have never had sex before. Nor do I have any real interest in those kinds of relations. I'm standing in the middle of far too many fucking dead bodies than a single person should ever have to deal with. You know what I would be doing if this trial wasn't happening? I would be taking the time to catalogue the fallen and burying them. But no, I have to deal with your stupid fucking bullshit. Can't you take five fucking seconds to at least maybe look around you and see the damages you've caused? Because all you've done today is try to kill a child, try to kill the kid's friends and then try to obstruct justice in the most blatant way possible. If it were up to me, I would've flung you into the stratosphere. Thankfully, it isn't up to me to decide your worthless fate. It's up to the people around you to choose. Hopefully you didn't screw yourself over too badly in your journey just to get here.

Muttering something under her breath, Yvette flipped off the sky. Good for you. In from one ear, out through the other. Focusing back on her client, more whispering under her breath. Whatever it was, doesn't really matter. I just need a moment. Necessary as that was, it was absolutely unprofessional. Give me a second to drink something.

"Please do that." Yvonne remarked and shifted her position. Looking about the stands, Marulyn had taken her place back up with her mothers. Talking among each other, I don't quite know what they're saying. Probably something in regards to Yvette's behavior and perhaps their own history with her. Or maybe what to make after this whole mess is over. We can ask them later or something. Let me get a sip. For real now.

…

Now that I and Salamon have gotten something to drink, we're back. Thankfully, we were not jumped by sentient food. Still debating their demands, hopefully we'll have a solution to their demands that don't require eating or drinking them. Uh… just ignore what I said. It doesn't have any bearing on what is currently happening in this clusterfuck.

"Good to know?" Bubbles announced, finding himself in the view of Lumosmon. Looking up to the lantern moth digimon, our little dragon waved. But all that got him was a shine of bright red. Kind of unnecessary. Or are you just mad that Melody isn't here currently?

Lumosmon lit up, flashing a variety of colors. Thankfully, they weren't close enough to blind anyone nearby. Last thing we need. Sorry about that. They're like that, always. Nothing really to see here. Continue on with this trial.

"Ms Silk, please continue your testimony." our very wonderful person finally announced and focused back on the seamstress. Unmoved by the action, patiently waiting for her moment to speak once more in this crucial moment of the prosecution's case. And by crucial, I mean that there's still a small chance that things can actually go up from here. But I'm not holding my breath on that.

"After finding Shiv's body, I headed back outside." Jezza continued and closed her eyes once more. The courtroom disappeared once more, returning to the shopping district at night. Still standing in her store, the body of her husband laying on the ground. Tempting as it would be to pull the knife out, that would just extinguish any chance of ever reviving her husband. If an act of that magnitude was even possible. No, she would need to find a healer or something similar to make sure for certain to check Shiv's vitals.

"Shit." the seamstress thought and let out a deep breath. This whole thing made absolutely no sense. What could Shiv have done to even justify this heinous act? Even ignoring the possible robbery, relations between the clan and the town were actually beginning to look better. Not great, but nowhere near horrible either. Why would someone want to go and sabotage that? Off the top of her head, she could only think of one person - Madame von Strauss. Amid her fake smile and cheerful attitude was a woman who very clearly wanted this town to be that of Aldia's. Leading the charge to claim the land that the clan rightfully owned, this was just one more of her schemes. But to go this far? What the heck was that midget thinking? You can't be going around murdering people and leaving their bodies in plain sight. "When I get my hands on her."

Turning around, Jezza made a beeline for the door. Making sure to close it behind her, she looked about the district. In the dark of what I can only assume to be late night/early morning, not a soul is awake. Even if there was someone who was, they very likely would think our seamstress here was an intruder intent on robbing them. Which is why you always carry with you some kind of light source. Sadly, this wasn't really something Jezza had going for her. No, she was still looking for anyone who could help her in this time of need.

"My husband has been murdered!" she finally announced, her voice echoing about the plaza without a response back. Well, all except one.

"I'm sorry to hear that." a voice called out, Jezza's gaze turning to the roof line. Just out of reach of her vision was a figure. Quite confident in their abilities… could it be? No. She would need to be an absolute idiot to remain here. Which meant that she still had other places to get too. "By any chance, would you like some help?"

Leaning down, Jezza picked up a rock from the plaza's street. Throwing it towards the figure, all it manages to hit is the wall of her own shop. Doesn't even leave a mark, the projectile falling peacefully back to the ground as quickly as it had left. The figure rolled their eyes and let out a deep breath. Sadly, we have no way to know what was going through their head at the moment. Perhaps they thought this woman was crazy, confused by her own bias. Or perhaps she was just as confused by this whole strange situation. Maybe a mix of both.

"You did this, bitch." the seamstress screeched, already picking up another rock. Repeating her actions, she wasn't any closer. If anything, her throw had gotten worse - only managing to hit mere feet away from her. Almost as if the rocks were trying to taunt her for any possible failure of not seeing the murder of her husband coming. As if there was somehow something to clue her into what was happening right under her nose. She felt so fucking blind in that moment. "Why don't you get down from that perch of yours and maybe act like a responsible adult and not a little girl getting her kicks out of robbing people. How about that?"

The figure rolled their eyes, not even moving from their position.

"And what makes you think that I of all people would be doing that tonight?" the figure countered, whip coming out. Whipping it about on the rooftop, care is taken to not create any massive holes up there. Don't want any water coming in when it rains. If it ever actually does. Sorry. Where was I? Right. Our mystery person. Once they've completed that show of force. They run to the edge of the building and jump to the plaza below. Whip still flying about without a care in the world. Maybe get that fixed. Or not. This is a flashback, after all. Back on solid ground, it's a lot easier to get a better idea on how big they actually are. Coming just to Jezza's waist, so around halfling size. What's a bit harder to get a grip on is their clothing. Whether it be our seamstress's memory or a trick of the light, I can't really make out what this figure is wearing. I would have to assume it's something to make it harder to identify them should they be caught, but who can really say. "Perhaps I have some other objective that isn't quite as clear as your feeble little mind would make it look like?"

Jezza rolled her eyes. Of course she could claim ignorance in regards to this mess. And they would all believe her. Lapping up her words as if they were somehow nothing but the truth and pushing out anything that might somehow not be. The nerve of that bitch to be pulling the leather over other's eyes in her own attempt at holding the town hostage.

"Looks to me like you're off to murder someone else." the seamstress announced, charging towards the figure. Pulling her arm back, the punch that followed managed to connect. Not enough to really knock their opponent about, but did get their message across. Even if the figure responded with their whip, wrapping it around Jezza to pull her down. Or at least try to pull her down onto the ground. What exactly happened, was more a case of someone overestimating gravity's effect on people. Legendary thief, they weren't. Late as it was, that doesn't excuse the strange mistake. Who can really say. What followed was a slap fight between thief and seamstress. Neither letting the other get the upper hand, it's more of a stalemate. You would think they would try something different here. But no, they resorted to the same tactics as before - slapping at each other in the hopes that this motion would somehow catch the target by complete surprise.

"Admit it!" Jezza screeched and pulled her foot back. Slamming the appendage into the thief, that did it. Knocking her to the ground, the seamstress went for another. Unlike the first, she wasn't as lucky. No, her opponent took this as the perfect opportunity to make a getaway. Flinging their whip out, the weapon managed to grab hold of something solid enough to pull them out from this position and back to the rooftops above. Not before Jezza threw one more rock her way. While a direct hit, our thief didn't particularly show any flinching or signs of stopping. No, she took it like a champ and charged on. "Serves that bitch right."

Looking around, no one else had chosen to check out the commotion. Which left only one option for the seamstress - booking it back to where she came. Maybe Yvette would be awake. Perhaps the clan mother had some idea of what she could do here. If there was something that could be done in the face of this strange and bizarre situation. Considering her track record, I find that highly unlikely. If anything, she'll probably do something that makes this worse. Like holding a long-term grudge and only now coming to the surface. But that's just silly and beyond the point.

"Clan Mother! Clan Mother!" Jezza shouted, making a massive amount of noise as she approached the gates of the fortress once more. Maybe that would get someone's attention. If not, she would march to the Clan Mother's home and directly ask her to help in this operation. Feelings in regards to Yvette aside, there must be someone else you can go too for help. The Shaky Walls Cafe has to be a lot closer than this place. If that place is off-limits, why not instead go to one of the other restaurants? Maybe someone wanted a late night snack and was milling about. Or maybe there's a small neighborhood where the farmers live. That has to be closer than going all the way back to your home and alerting the leader of your people. What do I know? Just a silly narrator.

Passing through the gates, Jezza made a beeline for the clan mother's abode. Even back then, it stuck out - clear as day. Looks to stand in the current spot of Yvonne's home. Heck of a lot larger than hers, standing two proud stories and built from quite a lot of lumber. I don't even want to imagine the amount of work put into this one building. Those surrounding it appear to be only a single story, bunched up to maximize the capacity of the area they were working with. I wonder… Eh. A question to be answered after this trial. Approaching the door, our seamstress began banging against the door. Coming close to smashing a hole within the sturdy piece, Yvette Kirjaw eventually opened up. Dressed in something that could be barely considered a 'nightgown', the clan mother looked to have not gotten a single wink of sleep. Or if she had, her face is most definitely not showing any of it. Maybe something to do with children? Possible. Yvonne wouldn't be born yet, but perhaps our clan mother was taking a test run. Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

"There's been an emergency!" Jezza announced and got a look from the clan mother. To be fair, an emergency can be a whole lot of different things. Most of them a sign of war or major upheaval for Aldia. Did this fall into that category? Not really. Though, a single murder could very easily spiral into a situation on that level. Thankfully, we have the benefit of hindsight to see that it didn't. But in this moment, that was far from the case. For all these two knew, this was an active declaration of war.

"What happened?" Yvette answered, Jezza taking a deep breath. Putting her thoughts back in order, she focused back on the clan mother.

"Shiv has been murdered and I believe that Madame von Strauss is behind it." Jezza answered and watched the clan mother look to the ground. Reaching behind herself, out comes her doubleaxe - the beginning of a hunt that she would not win. Especially as our flashback comes to an end, The once bright sky having given way to hues of yellow and orange. Had that much time really passed since we started the second flashback? Must be. Hopefully Melody heard that and knows when to head back to us.

Regardless of the time that passed, Yvette's gaze was already on Maddie. Muttering yet another insult, the thief stood strong against this verbal abuse. The temptation to counter with something of their own was definitely there, but not taken. At least for now.

"Objection!" Maddie announced, gaze meeting that of Yvette's once more. Whip still at her side, Yvette taking this as a chance to flash her claws. "If Jezza supposedly went to you, that would make you a suspect as well. Quite a bit of bias on display here."

Yvette didn't respond, her gaze shifting over to the stands. Flapping her wings about, no height off the ground is really gained. Even if some height were to be gained, it wouldn't do any good. There are more than enough people here to bring you back down without issue.

"Don't even think about it." Blaze muttered and raised his foot up, the possibility of ember being active radiating from his body. Not the most threatening thing you could've pointed at her, but gets the job done. Though, I would think that the threat of throwing her out of court would've worked just as well.

"Absolutely." Cinemon announced and looked over to Judge. All he got was an eyeroll. Wonderful. Guess we're continuing on with this shitshow. Onwards, I guess. "Anything else that you wish to say to us?"

Jezza shook her head, more than enough time for Yvonne to clear her throat. Focusing on Yvette, I could swear she's sweating large rocks. That can't be good for her body. Or really anyone's body for that matter. Take it with a grain of salt.

"No, let's continue." the knight remarked and focused on our very wonderful person. Not that the favor was returned. If anything, they were trying even harder to dodge being in Yvonne's vision. "What else have you not told your people in order to 'protect' them?"

Yvette's gaze locked onto Yvonne and pointed a claw at her. Yvonne brought her khakkhara back out, the ringed staff standing straight to the sky. Another staredown followed - energy almost ready to surge from their eyes and shock their opponent if given the right circumstances. Circumstances that just weren't being fulfilled here. Or anytime soon.

"Why the fuck would you care? You disowned me, you ungrateful bitch!" Yvette screeched, her body bulking up. Shit. That isn't good. "Objection! This information has nothing to do with this case. If you really want to know so badly, come back and submit mommy."

Yvonne rolled her eyes. Staff staying in place, she kept her gaze on the clan mother. No place for lies and bullshit in a time like this. No,

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact you were off fucking women and left the very thing you brought into this world out to be cared by other people?! Was I not the thing you fucking wanted?!" Yvonne screeched and smashed the khakkhara into the street. No rocks were sent up, the rings of the staff jingling about. Whatever the audience was talking about faded to the wind, their ears and attention now on Yvonne. "I'm sorry if we all sound like we're insane or something, but you can't lead worth a damn and it's about time you admit that."

Silence fell over the court. The accusation alone, absolutely damning. Not the kind of look you want your leader to have. All eyes now on our knight, anticipation of whatever she might say next. No pressure, okay?

Yvonne nodded, trying her best to accommodate all these sets of eyes now looking her way. Absolutely intimidating, even if most of the people staring were those she had known her entire life and were perhaps rightfully confused by this revelation. I know I would definitely be if I hadn't been with you yesterday. Faced with that information, kind of the only thing you can do with it.

  
"At the end of the day, what were you trying to gain from all of this?" Yvonne continued, eyes meeting that of Yvette. Not that she was giving the same courtesy to our knight. No, that was asking way too much of a woman who solved problems by biting into their backs and eating them. For the record, I'm going to keep shouting that till that's the only thing people remember you doing. "Because to me, it looks like you're trying to hide something. Spill it."

Yvette looked over to Judge. But he was currently focused on Yvonne over her. Hammer still at his side, there will be no objection. "Answer me, Yvette. What use did you have in abandoning your people and your own daughter?!"

No response. Instead, Yvette shot up into the sky. Muttering something to herself, she made a beeline for the northern end of Aldia. Guess that answers our question. Not quite in the way we were expecting, but still an answer. Wait. Does that mean that the prosecution has no more witnesses to bring out or evidence to present? I don't think I've ever seen this happen in a courtroom before. Though, all the stories I've done that reach this point usually don't complete the trial itself. So I don't really have an answer that could satisfy the question. Or is this just a common occurrence that Judge has some idea on what's supposed to happen next?

"Correct." Judge answered, hitting his hammer against the ground. Everyone's attention shifted over, giving the elf a chance to get a breath in. "The prosecution rests the case. Court adjourned. Tomorrow, we will hear the defense."

The words roll out, Maddie's gaze already on their teammates. Tomorrow was their chance to set things right. Or fail trying. But right now, a meal was in order.

* * *

Notes:

Sorry about the long than usual wait between chapters. Somehow, the next chapter is also a two-parter. The first part has been written and clocks in at 5k. Yeah.

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Next Time: The first half of the Madame Poject. Oh boy, this is one heck of a doozy.


	9. 77: How we got here

I don't own digimon.

* * *

With the first day of the trial in the books, our heroes did the natural thing for their situation. Go out to dinner at the one and only place they knew it was safe to go and talk without fear that Yvette might show up and trash the place - The Shaky Walls Cafe.

"You say it like that's a bad thing." Kollmon remarked, gaze shifting over to her partner. Currently in a state between tired and relieved, Maddie held Ella's hand all the way to the cafe. Not a single word spoken between the two - just the occasional glance to each other and maybe the squeeze of a hand. That was pretty much it. Between the fights, Rantha's gambit and Yvonne burning the bridge between her and Yvette, those feelings are perfectly understandable. "Uh… that doesn't answer my question."

To answer your question, it isn't. Just makes you very predictable. A factor that Yvette could very easily take advantage of if she wasn't so intent on making things harder for herself all the dang time. A blessing in disguise for all of you.

"You can say that again." a voice called out, Mari Gold and her spouse heading over. None worse for the wear, even in the face of possible murder amid the company of their friends. Fuck. Putting it that way makes it sound awful. Uh… pretend I didn't say anything there. "None taken. You have your job and we have ours."

Maddie's gaze swiveled over, Mari letting out a deep breath. Muttering something to herself, the waitress looked behind her. Marulyn was making her way over, but she was all alone. Where could that succubus friend of her have gone. Oh right. Yvette. Never mind me. Just tired and ready to be done. Just a little bit further… Or something along those lines.

"I'm guessing you wish to know the full extent of our involvement on the Madame project." Mari's wife remarked, getting a look from the waitress as Marulyn approached. Guess it was bound to come up eventually. Didn't think this is quite the moment either of them had in mind, but no one expected Yvette to show up and be a truly wonderful person to everyone who crossed her path - whether or not they actually deserved it. But I digress. Are we now all here? I know Melody ran off to be in the shadows just in case and I just want to make sure that we didn't leave her behind.

"I'm here." the mystic announced and raised her hand up. Mask still on, quite snug to her face. In the quickly approaching dark, something about the disguise shined. Some kind of enchantment? Or perhaps a dye. Lumosmon swooped over, flashing even more lights in her direction. "Yes, yes, I'm aware my mask is still on. Give me a moment."

Reaching to her face, off comes her mask. Slipping it back into her kimono, that's Munbimon's cue to flutter back over. Even as Lumosmon took this as the perfect opportunity to flash even more lights at everyone. Thankfully, no one was affected by this action. For the best. Last thing we need is someone getting permanently blinded before your part of the trial. "Is that a common thing to happen to wizards?"

Sadly, yes. With the variety of spells and magic taught at the academy, the risk of blindness is very high. Thankfully, it's usually temporary. Permanent blindness is a whole different issue, one that comes bundled up with a bunch of other side effects. Stuff like paralysis and petrification, for example. Beyond the point and completely off-topic. My bad.

Nonetheless, Mari Gold unlocked the door and everyone headed into the cafe. Inside, darkness blanketed just about every surface, leaving little in the way of space to talk in peace.

"Let me get the lights." Mari's spouse remarked and snapped her fingers. Motes of light appeared along the walls, illuminating the room and providing for the perfect spot for our heroes to talk. Exactly what they did, sitting down at a table right under a mote. Doesn't stop Lumosmon from 'flashing' each mote on the way over. One more thing to add to the list of things they're jealous of. Quite a list we have going now. Is this a case of jealousy or do they feel inferior to these magical lights.

"A mix of both?" Ella remarked and turned to Maddie. Letting go of the thief's hand, she whispered something under her breath. A head shake was the response back. Focusing back on the waitress and her spouse, they tried their best to push away the negative thoughts within. There was no place for them here. No, they could air their grievances some other time. Perhaps after the trial was over and justice had been found once more. Something along those lines.

"I'll start at the beginning then." Mari Gold remarked and sat down. As for her spouse, she chose to stay standing. Can't imagine it being particularly comfortable. Unless you have some other ulterior motive for staying that way.

The elven chef shrugged and headed over to the kitchen. No sign of any menus, guess you're really that predictable. Or not very adventurous.

"No more eggs, please." Rantha called out, not even getting a response back. Uh… good to know. Returning his focus back to the rest of the group, Mari Gold let out a sigh. Setting her hands on the table, she did her best to split focus between all the eyes on her. Easier said than done with everything buzzing about in her head.

"This whole mess began long before any of you were born." Mari muttered and closed her eyes. The interior of her cafe faded away, giving way to a secluded camp. A mix of humans, elves and other smaller races, all looking over the plans for a new life. If they knew the lengths of which they would need to go for their dream, would they have gone through with this? Or would they have chosen to go elsewhere in the hopes of a better chance of their dreams coming true. But none of them knew that yet. No, they were hopeful of claiming the land promised to them. Which brings us to a young succubus. Dressed in a cloak made from discarded rags, it's a far cry from the role she would play in this story. No, her thoughts are on that on a few things. Most of which are related to staying close to her guardian. A human woman of all people, she's dressed in a white cloak. Kind of like something Distant Harmony would wear. But no mask. Instead, a strange variety of sticks hang out of a pocket. Jingling about with each step, might want to get those a bit more stable before you're heading off into the great wide world.

"So you're claiming that there's something of great importance to the south?" an elf announced, dressed in leather, a large blade hung to her back. Crude, yet efficient, that doesn't explain the bear also accompanying her. A ranger of some kind? I've seen weirder when people have come to pick students up. Or she's a barbarian. No, too nicely dressed to be one of those. A wizard's worst nightmare. While we haven't ever had any drills in regards to that, the academy would always tell us to be on the lookout for any that might have accidentally teleported in. Yes, that's a legitimate fear to have. I'm very well aware of how weird that sounds. Just another part of being me. Or something like that.

On second thought, she's probably a beastmaster. Of what I do know, they aren't very popular. Though, I can't figure out why. I would think that the appeal of your own personal creature would be more than enough to get people on board, sadly not… Crud. I've gotten onto one hell of a tangent there. Not my intention here. Now where were we? Right, the human woman taking. Her focus moved to the elf. Giving a nod, she took the time to clear her throat. The leader then. Good to know. I'll keep that in mind going forward.

"Yes. There's a large building with everything we will need there." the woman announced and found her party's gaze on her. "It's just a matter of finding our way to it and securing a perimeter around it from anyone who might try to get the drop on us."

Cries of excitement echoed about the crowd, the people grabbing their supplies. For our little succubus, that meant her little sack with everything she was able to get. Glad as she was for her guardian to pick her when she did, it didn't mean that everything could come with. People like her parents had to stay behind, the result of an accident that very much wasn't their fault in the first place.

"Yeah!" the little succubus announced, pushing that thought out of her head and raising her sack up. The woman's gaze turned to her. Cracking a smile, she rubbed her hand through her child's hair. It's quite a happy memory. A far cry from everything that would come right after, sadly.

"Doesn't quite match up with what we know though." Ella announced, bringing a swift end to this flashback. Looking towards Mari Gold, she's joined by Cinemon and a couple other digimon partners. I can sort of see where you're coming from, but you might want to fill me in on what you saw that I didn't. "If you were somehow a succubus before coming to Aldia, that would imply there's a tribe of succubi/incubi somewhere to the north. But if that were somehow the case, why didn't Yvette and her gang of savages find them instead of the group to the northeast?"

Silence fell over the dining room. I'm going to have to agree with you there. Which just raises further questions. Where exactly did these succubi come from in the first place? We know that the orcs have been here since forever, but somehow succubi and incubi have managed to keep so low of a profile that they've managed to not contribute anything to the history of this world beyond becoming part of a clan of orcs?

"Wouldn't they have their own personal history?" Dave remarked, joining Mari's gaze on the ceiling. Yes, they much would. But in this context, you have to wonder why they stayed observers for so long. Were they waiting for something to happen? Or, someone to show up to set things in motion? Some mix of the two?

"I can't really say." Yvonne added, her gaze split between Mari and Marulyn. "The only person who would really know is Yvette. No chance in hell that she's going to give that up after what I said at the trial."

I doubt she would've told you either way. Even if she were to divulge that, would she even tell us the truth? This is Yvette we're talking about here. If we want to know, we'll need to ask a succubi that was there. Something for another day.

"Wait. If one of the people there had on a labcoat, they might have been part of Distant Harmony." Rantha added, everyone's focus swiveling over to him. Taking a deep breath, the merchant collected his thoughts. "They would have the know-how to work something as crazy as this 'Madame Project' or whatever you called it."

Maddie nodded and took a deep breath. I don't think there's really an official name for this stupid of the town to keep the legacy of one person alive for however long that war took to play itself out. One would think they would have something by the time they got to the final madame and you straight up shutting them down. All for her to turn around and make one more for good measure. Probably a phrase to describe that kind of action.

"Scorched Earth." Balamon remarked, getting a look from both Blaze and Dave. Muttering something to himself, the fire snake digimon slithered his way further up

"Just Queen then?" Bubbles suggested, cuddling Phusitmon to the best of his abilities. That's an interesting choice of name. I don't quite see the connection here.

"In his head, I'm princess, so the next step up would be queen." Maddie remarked, carefully petting the little dragon on the head. After, they made sure to straighten out his dress. Always need to look their regal part, regardless of whether someone chomped over your wings or not. But I digress. Focusing back on Mari, I can't really think of anything else that might come up with me. Anything else that you all could think of?

Silence. Okay. Good to know we got that out of our system. I guess we can get back to the original thing that sparked this whole conversation. Even if it feels like we've walked past it a little bit and moved onto other, pressing issues.

"That's… complicated." Mari remarked and finally opened her eyes, gazing over to the kitchen. Her spouse is still hard at work on making meals, though she did say something from her sanctum. I'm not completely sure what that was, but it was probably something in regard to her wife's memories. Uh… can I ask a dumb, obvious question? It's alright if you don't want to answer this. I would totally understand your reluctance. "No, go on ahead."

The person who turned you into a succubus... someone you had an intimate relationship with?

Mari's gaze shot up to the ceiling. Cheeks glowing a bright shade of crimson, mumbling of something echoed out of her mouth.

"Yes, she was my first wife." Mari continued, finding herself faced with a look from her daughter. I'm guessing this is not the sort of thing you really talk about in general. Unless you thought your mother was always a succubus or something and not a human before getting turned. A relative assumption to make. The actual turning is one of the few secrets not even scholars could get them to divulge. Though in this case, giving them privacy is definitely for the best.

Marulyn's face turned pink, the elven mage looking about the room for a place to hide. Even in the darkness, that was probably not the best thing to do right now - big scary succubus berserker lady out and about. Just because she's biding her time doesn't mean you should get complacent. But don't let me stop you.

"Maybe…" Marulyn remarked, reaching under the table for Yvonne. Grabbing hold, the knight gave her girlfriend's hand a soft squeeze. Nothing too major, just enough to ease whatever worries are drifting about in Marulyn's head for the moment. After, the pair let their focus return to Mari. Currently silent, almost as if she was waiting for the shock to wear off before properly continuing her story once more. Looking about her audience, everyone looks to have a clear understanding of your current state.

"May I continue now?" she inquired, finding herself facing with nods from all sides. "While we made it to the place that we would soon call 'Aldia', the locals were not so keen on our arrival."

Closing her eyes , the dining room faded away. What would one day be the shopping district replaced it. Our party from before has made it to their destination, with a couple of extra people to boot. Hadn't been their intention. Worked out that way.

"So you're really a dragon?" our young 'succubus' announced, looking upon the newest addition to the group - a red dragon. Quite a large specimen, it's entirely possible this is either Bubbles's mother or his grandmother. Food for thought, brought about by a random thought.

"Yep." the dragon answered, feeling the child rub her hand across their head. An odd feeling, but one that looks quite comforting on their scales. Oddly, a large pendant hung around their neck. Reminiscent of the one that Bubbles once wore, just one connection to add to the pile. Behind them, the start of the shopping district is happening right before their eyes. While only piles of wood and stone, they would one day become buildings that would stand the test of time. Or perhaps weather through it just enough that those who came next could actually keep the place up with little upkeep. The second one sounds more likely. "Do you have a name by any chance? I don't think I caught it when people were saying their hellos."

The young succubus looked about the area. What was the most harm could it really do? She wasn't going to live for that long. Even if she did, she could just change sometime further down the road. Simple as that.

"Mari. With an I rather than a Y." Mari explained and watched the dragon chuckle. Looking down to the young succubus, they place a claw on her head as carefully as a dragon could manage. A very slight head pat, one that a mother would give to her daughter. If she was actually able to get there. Thankfully, Mari had the next best thing.

"What are you doing now, dear?" her mother announced, approaching the pair. Still dressed in her labcoat, big splotches of red cover her entire garment. But odder still, is the tears coming down her face. Fuck. I think I know who she shot. No way that person was still alive… right. Wait. This actually gives us a pretty good idea of when this occurs. Sometime after this world was created and the pieces set. Which means they knew. Nice to have confirmation of that.

"Just talking with the dragon!" Mari answered, not even looking at her mother. Perhaps that was for the best. No use in scarring her just yet. Already gone through enough as it is coming here. Adding more is just a recipe for disaster.

"Wonderful, dear. Mommy is going to need you to stay with them for a little bit while she handles some adult business." her mother continued and spun around, walking towards someone. We'll never know who. Mostly because Mari never looked that way in the first place. Following her mother's instructions, she stayed focused on the dragon. Eyes not leaving the drake, a couple minutes pass in awkward silence. Eventually, Mari blinked and finally looked away from her target. Letting forth a sneeze, she nearly fell over.

"Do you wish to play again?" the dragon inquired and watched the young succubus look around the future plaza. Focusing back on the dragon, a question came to her. One that felt quite obvious now, but felt like a brand new idea at the time.

"Yes, but can I ask you something?" Mari inquired, the dragon raising her head down to meet that of her subject. "By any chance do you have a name?"

The dragon looked up into the sky. Did she? For as long as she had loved in this world, never once had she thought that question over. What few people did encounter her were always shouting and or ready to throw down. But not this party. Instead of raising their weapons when she had approached them, they insteaded talked to her - ask questions about the surrounding area. When the time came for them to head off to their destination, they had even asked if she wanted to come with them. She couldn't even think of a single time before this point that someone had even asked that. Thinking it over, she got a concrete idea of what she wanted to say.

"Chatty." the dragon explained, focusing back on Mari. Making sure that her gaze was meeting that of the young succubus. But in the process of doing that, another set of eyes had found their way over to the pair. A halfling, a fancy dress adorned her body. Locks of white trail down, beautiful nails tapping against her side. I wonder who exactly could that be? It's Madame.

Time passes onward. People grow up, buildings are constructed. Love blossoms and marriages come. All amazing, wonderful things. Perhaps this would be the end of the story for some. Sadly, life doesn't work out that way. Much as you would like it all to be one color, it's more a rainbow. All mixing together, little rhyme or reason to how it happens. So it's only fitting that we catch up with Mari not as a child, but as an adult. The death of that woman now a blissful memory, things were about to come to a head. In more ways than one.

"Raid!"

Mari's eyes shot open. Of course they chose today of all days to strike. All they had wanted was that mansion. Why were the locals so intent on causing trouble. How the fuck were they supposed to know that it was their land? They should've marked it. But no, whenever they were making progress, the orcs needed to come in and smash it down. Even in her adult years, some things didn't change.

"Time to get up Deliah." Mari whispered, turning to the other side of the bed. There, the most wonderful woman in her life slumbered. Pulling the covers back, her gaze turned to her hand. Odd. She didn't remember having claws. Or her fingers being colored red for that matter either. What the hell had happened? Closing her eyes, she cast her mind to the previous night. She got into bed with her beloved, they said some things. "Deliah, what the fuck did you do to me?"

No response. Carefully pulling the other side away, she did a double take. Instead of finding the woman she had spent so long loving, a succubus of all things had taken her place. Same red skin, two slits slowly staring up to their lover. Never mind, those are now regular eyes.

"I can explain…" Delilah started, Mari glaring at her the entire time. Kind of hard to really explain this in the first place. Even not knowing what kind of method was used, it's very clear someone wanted to take things further, but not like this… right? Normally, they would talk this out.

"You better not have gotten me drunk, again." Mari continued and got a sigh in return. "Because the orcs are raiding yet again and the last thing I need is explaining to my mom that you've done something to me and turned my sk-"

Delilah put a claw up to her mouth or at least. Sitting herself back up, a deep breath followed. Clothes appeared over her body. Simple in nature, but more than enough to cover the necessary parts should someone try to break in and attack them. Because that's the biggest worry about what's going on currently. Not the gazillion other things that are definitely swirling around in either woman's head currently.

"No, we were both sober… I think at least." Deliah remarked and got up out of bed. Now face to face with her beloved, she looked away. How could she have been this big of an idiot. Of course she should've asked first. But no, she went and turned the one person in the world into a succubus. For what? She wasn't completely sure. It was a spur of the moment decision that very easily could backfire. Only one real way to find out. "I think it was something like, I wanted to show you a magic trick, kissed you and then we headed back home."

Mari rolled her eyes, trying her best to remember that night. But all she found was a complete blur. After a nice dinner with everyone, her mother went off to do something with that fancy child-looking woman. Halfing. But that was the only thing that came to mind whenever she thought about it. Yes, that isn't quite the most appropriate way to think of it, but it works. Though, I can also think of worse ways you could phrase that.

"And that magic trick was to turn me into a succubus, correct?" Mari continued and got a nod from her spouse. Letting out a deep breath, she picked a pillow up and flung it at Delilah. The succubus managed to catch the pillow, setting it down to the side. After, she looked back to Mari. A deep breath followed.

"Uh… do you want me to turn your skin back to normal?" Delilah continued and walked over to Mari. Grabbing hold of her hand, energy surging through Mari's body. Red gave way to a more pale pink, battle gear appearing over all of that. Similar to the leathers we saw earlier, this was more than enough for a possible orc attack. Grabbing a large sword, she clips it to her side. Turning back to her partner, they were already at work grabbing a weapon. Looks to be a spear. Attaching it to her back, the couple headed towards the door. Pushing it open, all out war had broken out in the streets. Groups of orcs had already stormed the town, armed to the teeth with their best weapons and armor. Hard at work murdering people, it's only a matter of time.

"Oh no you don't!"

A whip waves about, striking everyone who is in the vicinity. Mari's gaze shot over. There was that stupid halfling. Armed with just her whip and in that stupid dress, she was absolutely intent on protecting what she saw was hers. Even if the truth was absolutely murky in regards to who owned what. Right now, casualties needed to be kept to a minimum and the threat repelled. After that, they could assess the damages done and work from there. Simple enough plan with far too many ways that this could go wrong. But let's not dwell on that.

"Get the hell over here." the halfling screeched, Mari and Deliah making their way over. Weapons out, things were looking up. If you could really see it like that. Bodies falling all about, the wounded left to die. The few that were actually helped sitting ducks for the orcs with bows and throwing spears. The even luckier group that could move still had to deal with attacks from the orcs. For what? A very slim chance of actually surviving to see another day. Truly the reward

"Yes ma'am." Delilah remarked, slamming her spear into the armor of an orc. Stabbing right through, she flung her attacker to the side. It's a similar story for Mari. Except with her, it was more a case of trying to keep her attackers away. "Where's Mari's mom?"

The halfling rolled her eyes. Muttering something under her breath, they wave their whip about. Kind of hard to really say what was going through their thoughts here. Some people are just far easier to read than others. This woman - likely 'ancestor' of Maddie, is a mystery to everyone. She clearly knows something. But what that something is and how she fits in with everything else playing out remains to be seen. Right now, this strange halfling was fighting for the side of Aldia. All that really mattered in this situation.

"Heck if I know." she muttered and looked to the rooftops. Throwing her whip out, she managed to grab hold of the roof. Ascending her way up, orcs still intent on killing everyone. I take back what I just said. This woman is absolutely crazy and was perhaps not the best option to have cloned. "I trust that you both have this under control?"

Mari and Deliah nodded. I'm not completely sure if this counts as 'under control' in any sense of the word. If anything, this is the exact opposite of that. Nothing about this screams that either of them have any form of control over this situation in the slightest. The orcs are still coming to kill people. Even if some of them do die, that isn't going to stop them from continuing their assault. Though, we already know the outcome of this bout. Eventually, the numbers would thin out and life would go on. So they fought on through the night, pushing through fatigue and tiredness so that Aldia could see one more day as a free entity. All for a future that would technically, never quite come to these people. No, the battle their children, grandchildren and beyond would one day bring a complete and utter loss for them. But that's well in the future. Right now, the tide of battle had been turned - the sun rising back into the sky once more.

"We did it." Delilah whispered and turned to Mari. Covered in a mix of dirt, orc blood and who knows what else, perhaps it would be best to wait to be intimate. She was also covered in that stuff and even more, that canceled it out and made it okay, Maybe. Not entirely sure that's how these things work. Doesn't really matter. Pulling her spouse over, their lips met. Passion surged through their bodies, energy replenished as we're flushed back out to reality once more. The food is now out and everyone looks ready to chow down. Their minds were a far different story.

"That was… something." Phusitmon remarked and looked to the rest of the party. Still processing what they had just heard, the worst still yet to come. Fuck. We're still not even to the actual madame project itself. All kinds of horrors definitely await us there. "Wait. If that was the original 'Madame', doesn't that mean she was somewhat aware?"

Mari nodded as her spouse took a seat at the picnic table. Right beside her, she reached out to meet the cook's hand. Grabbing hold, a squeeze followed. The first of possibly many to come in the face of events lived through once more. It's alright if you don't want to conti-

"No. You need to know this stuff." Mari answered, her gaze turning to the plate of food that her wife had brought out. A soup - simple and romantic. A far cry from the events that she would soon tell.

* * *

Notes:

Due to the content in the next chapter, Vol 2 will be set to an M-rating. Yes, this is very much necessary. So much so that I need to take a break and write an entry or two for Tales of the Returned.

.

Next Time: The other half of Mari's flashback. It gets worse. A lot worse.


	10. Dead Person: Don't Eat

I don't own digimon.

* * *

The next couple minutes consisted of nothing but people eating. Good of an opportunity for me and Salamon to do the same. Or just watch on as a certain someone demands that I give them belly rubs. I guess I can fulfill that demand. For now.

"Shame we can't see you two." Carinamon muttered, Rantha taking this as his cue to give the feathered scorpion digimon a couple head pats. Don't want to tempt fate with an accidental poisoning because you were a touch too rough. "I would never do that to Rantha."

I know. But it would be best to play things safe currently. As for the rest of our heroes, their attention sat comfortably on their plates. Their meal now consumed, they should have more than enough energy to make their way back to Maddie's manor and rest the night away. But not before we hear the rest of Mari's story and all the nasty things that come with it.

"Yeah. Sounds about right." Mari remarked, gaze turning to the audience. "Are there any questions you would like me to answer before I continue with this mess I created for all of you to deal with?"

Bubbles raised his hand. Focusing shifting to him, he carefully set Phusitmon down beside him. In turn, he looked over to Mari.

"Did Chatty live in sewer?" the little dragon cooed, Mari's gaze already swiveling away. Muttering something to the floor, it's right back to Bubbles. A head shake came right after. That's a good sign… I think.

"No, her cave was closer to the farms. Why do you ask?" the waitress remarked and got a deep breath from Bubbles. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he tried his best to remember what he saw yesterday.

"Dragon in darkness, sold town." Bubbles answered and found himself faced with a confused look back. To be fair, I'm not entirely certain how the heck you would phrase that in the first place. Based on what little information we know, Bubbles's mother sold out the entire town to the deity she worshipped. And didn't tell anyone that before she died. Nor did she make any plans on how she would deliver Aldia to her deity. No, that's up to Bubbles. Kinda. Haven't heard anything else. That could very easily change once they find out that he threw the holy symbol away and destroyed the shrine down in the sewers.

"What?" Mari's spouse announced and found herself faced with a nod from the little dragon. Back to her own wife, mutterings of something exit her lip. Getting a response back, her attention returned to Bubbles. "While I can't say for certain, I would assume that would make Chatty your grandmother or perhaps your aunt."

Good to have that myst-

"Then who was the grandfather then?" Phusitmon remarked and climbed his way up on the table. Pushing aside a couple plates, he came to a stop in the middle. All eyes shifted over to him, curious of whatever the plush rabbit digimon had to say. "Last time I checked, you kind of need two dragons to…"

Trying his best to not look at his partner, Phusitmon debated how exactly to finish that sentence. You're the one who got yourself into this. I'm not going to break that kind of information. Follow through and hope for the best.

"And uh… make more dragons." the plush rabbit digimon croaked out, getting a chuckle from Ella of all people.

"I don't believe dragon can have sex with themselves." Ella remarked and found herself getting a look from Bubbles. Part of me is just tempted to laugh at this point. Are we really going to have to discuss that subject? I am knowledgeable in that… kinda. I know that multiple kinds of spells on how to create a pregnancy. It's a very long story. Before you ask, no. I will not show any of you how to do it. Ever. Even if you ask nicely.

"Back in the fleet, that's the job of the medical ship." Melody explained, pulling Lumosmon back down from the light and into her arms. Once back in her lap, her focus returned to the rest of the group. "Due to the length of some of the trips, samples must be taken for future use. Or to compare against those who have died so that maybe cremated."

Silence fell over the cafe once more. All eyes on the mystic, trying to make some of this… interesting factoid and all its messed-up implications.

"Some people don't make it? Should you at least maybe make an attempt to improve the equipment" Rantha remarked, Melody shaking her head.

"Even if the fleet were to make the life support better, it wouldn't make a difference. A body can only take so much before age catches up to it." the mystic answered, Lumosmon taking this as the perfect opportunity to break free from her arms. They didn't get too far before Melody shoved them back down to her lap. "Even the fleet's best scientists aren't entirely sure why this happens. Their best guess it that even if all the ships were to travel any faster than they currently do, it would kill the entire population."

Good to know? Wait. That would imply that your people know that there's a huge chance of dying before they even reach their destination. Uh… what happens when the crew of an entire ship dies. Does the ship come to a stop or is there some kind of safeguard to lessen the blow?

Melody nodded. Grabbing hold of Bubbles, she turned the little dragon around. He can still hear everything you say. Maybe you should've done that before talking about sex and death.

"After the amount of bodies we saw in the digital world, I guess he thinks the latter is normal?" cinemon remarked, Dave and Marulyn looking over to the feline dog digimon. Oh yeah. We saw a lot of dead people. Okay, calling them dead is probably the wrong word. 'Frozen', would maybe work better here. Though, it's more of a matter of semantics. They were all victims of a chrono-based attack that leaves them in a state incapable of doing anything.

"Not that bad." Bubbles whispered and got a look from Marulyn. Mind you, he was living not that far from the secret Madame burial ground. This isn't as big of a jump that you would think it would be for a little dragon who likes dressing up as a princess. I would be more concerned about what phases him going forward.

Marulyn nodded, her focus returning to Melody. Lumosmon had once escaped our mystic's confines and was buzzing the nearby mote. They do realize that it's an inanimate object. It's not going to respond back. Ever. if it somehow were, then we would have a problem. But I'm babbling at this point. Do continue, Melody.

"The crew members are instructed to engage in a mix of sex with their partner and/or artifical-induced pregnancy." the mystic explained, already finding multiple members of our group interested, Though, Bubbles has turned back around - defeating the whole point of turning him around in the first place. I would give you points for effort, but that would be ignoring the conversation we had about Bubbles and our total willingness to show him a world marred by death and other nasty forces. So you get no points. "Even then, birth rates can be a bit of a mess. I have heard stories of people kind of forgetting how exactly intercourse works."

You know… maybe it's best that we take a step back and return back to what we were originally talking about. Might be for the best.

"I'll keep that in mind." Dave remarked and found himself faced with a look from Blaze. Muttering something to his boyfriend, the dancer got a chuckle in return. Turning back to Phusitmon, he whispered whatever he said over to him. Phusitmon shook his head.

"No, I don't think it was a spell, but that doesn't explain where these dragons are going." Phusitmon continued, looking about the table for something. Grabbing a plate, he placed it off at the far end of the table. Grabbing another, he set that plate near where he was standing. Not entirely sure where you're going with this. "I'm trying to visualize something. I'm not sure why, but I can visualize the issue and the dragon paths. There has to be some other dragon somewhere in the general vicinity of Aldia who is hiding. Either by way of the orcs, the people and/or some other factor. Mari, where was it that you found Chatty?"

Mari looked over to the dark area. Closing her eyes, the memories came rushing back in. A lot more fuzzy, she tried to remember the place that had brought Chatty to them. But all she got was nothing. No memory, not even a still image in her head. Just blackness.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything in particular about that moment of the journey to Aldia." the waitress remarked and took a deep breath. Looking over to Phusitmon, she whispered something under her breath. The plush rabbit digimon nodded. Making his way back over to his partner, time was taken to turn him around to face everyone else. "After the attack on Aldia, those who remained gathered to decide what they would do…"

Closing her eyes, the dining room of the cafe disappeared. In its place was an open field. Those who hadn't been killed or kidnapped had all gathered here to discuss what their next course of action would take the form of.

"I've had enough of these orcs!" one of the townspeople shouted, waving about their pitchfork. Dressed in overalls and a flannel top, definitely a farmer. Not entirely sure what, though. We know that cherries can grow on this land, but I'm not entirely sure what else can. Definitely suffered quite a bit from the orcs attacking. Between destroyed crops and equipment, not much that one can do to bounce back. Might be better to just give it up and move onto greener pastures. "Why don't we march back into their camp and kill them all."

Murmurs of something echo about the crowd, people's weapons pointing towards this person. Pointing their pitchfork towards these people, they are seriously outmatched. Even if they did somehow make it out of here, someone would likely kill him before they even got out of town.

"While I admire your enthusiasm, we would need a different strategy." a voice called out, everyone's gaze turning to the far side of the room. There we find that halfling from before. Still in the same outfit, I can only assume that she got some sleep after pulling that absolutely asinine stunt. Mari and Deliah could've died. But no, they are also in the audience. Staring towards their savior and screwer-over, unsure of what to make of her. Outside of her being a complete asshole who's willing to sacrifice everyone around her needlessly. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what else she has to say.

"What I propose is that we take our strongest and have them fight it out. The winner will be declared the strongest and get the right for their legacy to continue on for generations to come." the halfling announced, cheers of joy ringing out. What in the absolute flying fuck is happening? Are these people actually listening to what the fuck was just said? What this woman is suggesting is not going to help. I'm with that farmer. You guys should all just go to the nearest orc camp and let yourself all be slaughtered. Cut out the middle man in all of this. Because there's nothing good that can come from this. You're only going to create further distrust and panic within your own people. All while the orcs watch on and laugh at your stupidity. Fuck. I'm having flashbacks to the exam for getting a simple teaching assistant's job. Had all fought each other till the last stood. I wasn't even the victor. I was just the lucky person who arrived late and found the winner very confused and annoyed. A story for another time. But where was I? Right. This stupid proposal that's only going to cause more problems than it's worth.

"Are you sure there isn't any particular way we can do something else here?" Mari asked, her remark drowned out by the cries of excitement from everyone else. I'm starting to think that the people who were chosen for this expedition aren't the sharpest arrows in the quiver. No, these are the ones given to those who they don't want to kill, but are required to drag along for one reason or another. Yeah. Sounds about right for this situation. Instead, the succubus warrior tried clapping her hands. Still nothing. No matter what she did, no one would look at her or Deliah. Either that halfling's reach was so great that it allowed her to pull the wool under everyone's eyes, or something else is happening that we're not completely aware of from our perspective. Possibly a mix of both things.

"Said tournament will begin in the coming days, orcs be damned." the halfling continued, her gaze meeting that of Mari's. If only for a second, she gave our succubus warrior a look. Then it's right back to examining the crowd. Uh… okay. I'm not entirely sure why she did that. Perhaps an attempt at putting her at ease? Maybe? Why do it in the middle of the meeting?

"She was going to kill my mother's guardian and was trying to get my mother on her side when it happened." Marulyn announced, the flashback coming to an end as swiftly as it began. Looking to her mother, all the elven mage got was a sigh.

"That's getting a bit ahead of ourselves." Mari remarked as she looked back. Part of her wanted to be proud of her for coming to that conclusion, even if that deduction did give away part of what was to come in her story and the repercussions that would come with that. Letting out a deep breath, her focus returned to the rest of our heroes. "Are there any questions?"

For once, we have silence from everyone. Are you all certain that you don't have anything you wish to ask before we continue on.

"There really wasn't anything to ask about. Pretty clear cut." Munbimon remarked and took the time to switch shoulders. Once that was done, she carefully sat herself down and got comfortable. Whatever that means for the ghost monkey digimon.

"Was Chatty there?" Bubbles inquired, Mari's gaze swiveling over. Raising a hand to her chin, the waitress tried her best to think it over. In the mess that was our wonderful halfling's announcement, she hadn't really taken the time to actually look over anyone in the crowd. Outside of that farmer, of course. Could the dragon have been at the rally and she hadn't even noticed it? Possible.

"Someone as big as Chatty would've definitely been noticed in the crowd." Phusitmon answered, Bubbles pulling him back into his lap. "Considering that everyone's focus was on Ms 'Madame', we can assume she wasn't there."

Nods all around. Even if that does raise the question of where was she? A red dragon the size of her sticks out like a sore thumb. You can't really hide someone like her unless you have something massive… in the first place. Fuck. I think I know where exactly Chatty was.

"Don't leave us hanging." Carinamon remarked, looking up at the ceiling. Okay. Chatty was more than likely hiding behind the manor.

"I can like, see that." Kollmon answered, joining Carinamon in this gazing of the ceiling. "Though, that's also assuming that this place has remained unchanged since the people of Aldia found it. Who the hell would go through the trouble of building something in the middle of nowhere? Better yet, why didn't the orcs go through the trouble of claiming it as their own?"

Silence fell over the cafe's dining room once more. For all the information we've gathered as of late, we're still no closer to having an answer to these burning questions that keep popping up for us. Kind of annoying, but progress is still progress.

"Doesn't that also mean that Chatty was very much in on it?" Blaze remarked, the focus coming over to him currently. Possible. But what exactly does she have to gain from any of this? She's a dragon, after all. That's an easy win right there. Almost too easy. "All the more reason to have her sit this out and just watch."

Mari shook her head, gaze now on the table. Reaching out for her spouse's hand, a squeeze followed. Nice as the gesture, part of the waitress still felt uneasy. Why couldn't she still not remember anything in regards to Chatty? Spotty as her memory was in spots, everything else was coming through quite clear. Why did that part refuse to do the same? Had she done something so awful that blocking out the memory was the only solution to move on with her life? Or was something else at play that will reveal itself when the time comes? Only way to really find out is to remember, painful as that probably is for you.

"Kind of." she whispered, trying her best to find a memory of her time with the red dragon. Something had to still exist. Mari knew it. Closing her eyes once more, she dived deeper into her memories. The cafe disappeared once more, a field replacing it. Different from the one that the rally occurred on, a new day had dawned on Aldia. It was here we found our red dragon. A bit taller than last time, but still sporting that same necklace.

"It's good to see the orcs hadn't taken you." Chatty called out, Mari's gaze swiveling over. At the time, she had been looking for someone else - her mother. Somehow, she had managed to stay put of sight of her, Deliah and everyone else who considered her to be a friend. Normally this wouldn't be that big of a deal. She was a very important person with tasks that only she could accomplish. But it had been over a week since anyone had seen her. This was bordering on ridiculous. Nothing could be that important to disappear for a week without a word. Even if this somehow were, her mother would at least have the nerves to at least give a heads-up that she wouldn't be able to be contacted. "How have you been doing?"

Mari took a deep breath. While she hadn't seen the dragon as of late, where could she even begin with a question like that? Did she start with the fact that she had gotten married and turned into a succubus? Before that point? Some time during the rally? Or was this some kind of trick question that the answer of which doesn't matter, rather the way in which she answered the dragon's question.

"Better." the succubus warrior answered and focused on Chatty. Getting a nod, her attention turned to something off in the distance. Focusing in that same direction, one could make out a variety of people fighting. Doesn't look too good. Most fighting usually isn't. But this doesn't look to be our friendly competition. No, this is someone slaughtering their own people to fulfill some kind of sick and twisted need. Why else would explain the screams just reaching them. "Chatty, could I get on your back?"

Chatty nodded and approached Mari. Lowering her head down, , she felt her passenger clamber her way up. Once on, she began flapping her wings and shot up into the air. The actual flight is remarkably short for the actual distance. Jumping back down, Mari took a second to examine the carnage. The bodies of both orcs and townspeople laid about the ground, the result of an unknown entity. Blood covers the land and yet… something felt off. This is the middle of nowhere. Why go out of their way to have a fight?

"What the hell?" Mari announced and grabbed her sword from the side. Pointing it out towards the battlefield, more screams of pain echoing out. What could have possibly brought about this strange

"I'm sorry, Mari." a voice called out, the succubus warrior's gaze shooting over to one person in particular. There her mother laid, somehow covered in even more blood than you would think would be possible for a human to have on them. Life is full of those wonderful, awful moments. Moments like this, for example. Yet, Mari ran over without a single bit of hesitation. In retrospect, a bit too eager in the face of what was likely a trap for anyone dumb enough to come running up to see what the fuck had just gone down.

"Mother?" Mari responded, her mother's gaze turning to her. Flashing a smile for the briefest of moments, her hands reach for her own neck.

"My dear, understand that I fucked up and trust in Mademoiselle. She knows what she's doing." her mother remarked and began applying pressure to her neck. Even with Mari's best efforts, it isn't enough to break her mother's hands away from her own neck. What little life left in her body taken away in one swift motion. Peaceful and yet… no. It's not my place to ask that question. We're already putting her through enough with this.

"Why?" she whispered and stared down at her mother's body. There had to be some way that she could fix this. A magic spell maybe? There was bound to be a couple wizards around willing to teach her magic. Maybe not the truly dangerous stuff, but still something to put her in the right direction. Or maybe something in that stupid manor would provide the answer. Had to. Why the fuck else would they go through all the trouble of coming in the first place?

"Mari?"

Spinning around, the succubus warrior found her wife standing before her. Dressed in more casual clothes, it is a far cry from the armor required to get through these attacks. Not that it made much a difference here.

"She's gone and that devil owns us now." Mari muttered, smashing her sword into the dirt. Tears rolling down her face, she tries her best to not even look at the person who had taken the time to raise her. No, there wasn't any use in dwelling on this. Right now, they would need to scavenge what little remained off this woman's body and figure things out from there. In this case, that meant the lab coat and the slacks underneath. Digging through what remained, the only thing the pair found was a series of notes. A mix of half-remembered babbling and questionable diagrams, of what the pair could figure out looked to say something about the copying of a body by way of something called 'genetic material'.

"What the hell?" Delilah announced and shifted her focus back to her wife. Somehow, none of this felt real to her. At some point or another, the pair would wake up and it would turn out all to be some kind of weird fever dream. Pinching herself, pain surges through her body. Yep. Definitely awake. No doubt about that. This was very much happening and there was little in the way of anything they could do to stop it from continuing. Actions set in motion, the consequences of which are still being felt centuries after they occurred. All the other players dead, I can only wonder how Mademoiselle would think of this. Sadly, we'll never know the answer to that question. Even if we did, her answer probably wou- Speak of the devil.

"You can save your tears for later, dearies." Mademoiselle announced, making her way across the battlefield without a second thought. If anything, she was happy about this. Too happy for something tragic to have just gone down mere moments before. "We have work to do. Work that Ms Gold's work should not go to waste for."

Her words roll out, Mari trying her hardest to not smash her fist into that stupid halfling's face. How fucking dare she have the nerve to phrase it like that in the face of everything that had just went down? Couldn't she see that they needed time to grieve? No, this is a heartless person with absolutely little time for anything that came close to being 'sorry' or caring for things like the feelings of others. Reminds us of a certain someone before this whole mess.

"Go fuck yourself." Mari remarked and Mademoiselle shrugged, a strange silver object coming out. What. It doesn't have the effect that she thinks it does, Delilah taking this as the perfect opportunity to pick Mademoiselle back up and hoist her up onto her back. The silver object fell to the ground, whatever contents are held within are left behind. Whatever might have been put into that thing will never know. Especially as time pushes onward once more. The once open fields have given way to houses. But not those for the people of Aldia. Far from it in fact - the beginnings of what would one day be the grand fortress for our orcs. Right now, this place is anything but that. Under siege by the people of Aldia… this feels unjustified. Even viewed through the lenses of Mari, I can only wonder why the people of Aldia seem keen on turning to repaying blood with more blood. Yes, this is very much war. But at some point, things eventually reach a point where you either have to learn to live with each other or move out. Sadly, that time was not now. Wouldn't be for a very long time, long after both sides had lived.

"Let me go! I do not understand why you're so keen on wrecking our village." an orc announced, trying their best to break away from the hands of Mari and Deliah. Dressed in labcoats, it's a far cry from their much more casual attire.

Pulled away from their home, their spouse trying their hardest to make sure that our pair doesn't get away with this. Easier said than done when the people pulling are able to fly and you aren't. I do hope you realize how this looks outside of here, that what little goodwill you gained earlier has washed away. I digress, of course. This is your flashback.

"What? You were so keen on snuffing out Mademoiselle from this world, it's only fair that we do the same to you." Delilah announced, bringing her foot down awfully close to the orc's head. Fuck. "You've taken our women, destroyed our crops and tried to make our. If anything, we're just paying you back."

…

I don't even have the energy to argue with that statement. But that is technically true, even if I'm not completely certain that taking someone alive entirely makes up for the death of a woman who for all intensive purposes was fucking people over for the heck of it. Personally, I feel it doesn't. But that's personal opinion over anything concrete.

"What the hell are you talking about? We've kept to ourselves for the last couple months." the orc's wife announced, coming quite close to getting an arrow right through their heart. Not enough to stop her from continuing to pull as hard as orcishly as possible to keep her spouse from being taken away by these two strange women. "If you really want him so badly, you could have at least asked nicely. That's the bare minimum here."

She got no answer to her response. Instead, Mari and Deliah continued their pulling effort. Inch by inch, they pulled this luckless orc away from his home and people… for what? The crime of just being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Even if it had been 'months' since the last incident, that doesn't excuse this behavior as being justified. The opposite in fact. This is so unjustified that I can't believe you think this was okay. I sincerely hope this blew up in your face so spectacularly that you thought twice to do this again. Crud. That remark was a touch too close to the line.

Eventually our pair's grip won out, dragging the orc up into the sky and out of the village. The actual flight was remarkably quick, the result of perhaps much time spent practicing in secret. Or perhaps that this is seen as a necessary edge in the fight to exterminate the orcs. Even if the use of ranged weapons were most definitely a deterrent from doing just that. Unless they don't know that you are kidnapping people.

The manor came into view, with what looked to be a couple maids waiting on a balcony that no longer exists. Or we just haven't found the place where it connected to in the building. Food for thought. Carefully landing down on this strange addition, they drop their new arrival to the floor.

"Get him stripped down." Mari barked, her and Deliah making their way inside. Compared to the outside, the inside is relatively bare-bones. Perhaps one of the few things that's remained the same after all these years. Or perhaps the various Madame's are the sort that like decorating the place however suits them.

… Okay. It's probably pretty obvious that I'm just trying to dance around the fact that someone is very likely about to lose their dick and I don't feel comfortable about making reference to it. Mostly because I get the feeling that it's much more than a simple castration and more full-on forced modification of a person's body. Only one real way to find out, though.

Leaving the room behind them and passing through the hallway, only a single portrait hangs there - Mademoiselle. Untouched by the events happening all around her, it's… an awful painting. I'm not an expert, but I'm fairly certain that face isn't anything close to that had by the smug asshole of a halfling. No, this is some artist's interpretation - well after the fact. Possibly an attempt to get on someone's good side in the hopes of not dying. Thankfully, we have the benefit of history on our side for this one. Even if that does mean that this won't be the last painting to hang from these walls in the coming future. Beyond the point. Taking the steps down two at a time, the focus shifts to a place I didn't even realize was in the manor - a second staircase down. Taking the steps down two at a time, little attention is put on this strange and unknown area they are about to head into.

"Please, let me live my life." the orc called out, his cries falling on deaf ears as he tried to avoid smashing his head against each and every step. Not at all helping is the loud sounds echoing about from within. A mix of metal grating against metal and water dropping, it's more than enough to disorient nearly all would even dare to enter this part of the manor. But not Deliah or Mari. They almost look to be getting into this strange melody of pain and suffering. Humming along, the cries of this unlucky victim drowned out. At the bottom, time is taken to make sure that one more hit is done. Having to keep the victim disoriented the whole way through. Can't have them halfway disoriented. Need it to be all the way or 'it won't work'. Something along those lines. Once that act of violence is done, a knife is brought out. Deliah grabbed hold of the orc's hair. Raising them up, time is taken to make sure the orc was facing Mari's general direction.

"This is going to hurt the least of all the things we're going to do." Mari explained and got to work. Cutting away the locks of hair, time is taken to make sure that the orc is fully bald. Not even taking the time to push it all off to the side or anything, our pair was heading onwards to whatever destination they had in mind here. In this case, that meant a table. "Is the drill ready?"

From behind, a maid made her way over. A drill in hand… fuck.

Setting the orc down on the table, the installation of the hair begins. Needle by needle, the body of this unlucky soul restrained down by the combined might of both succubi. Care taken to not drill too close to the brain and the other sensitive parts of the head. Don't want to hit a part and end up with an even less controllable person wanting to kill you. Or worse, killing the person because you misjudged how deep you made the holes in the first place. Nonetheless, they pull the orc off the table and walk him further into this accursed sanctum. A wall awaits at the end, a large glass cylinder prepared for this moment. A handle had been placed on the front, perfect to open and close this prison should anything come up or perhaps go wrong. Sometimes both.

"Any last words?" Mari inquired and took the time to make sure our very unlucky orc was facing her and Deliah. They shake their head, almost attempting to spit at the pair in the process. Doesn't get any real reaction from the succubi. Instead, they continue humming to this strange tune of sorts. Even as the orc was forced into the tube and the door was slammed shut. Out of view, someone pressed something and the tune changed. Now, we have the cackling of electricity and the humming of new machines. Lot louder than the rest of the equipment, it drowns out the few screams of the orc that somehow manage to pierce through their prison. Only adds to the fucked up atmosphere down here as the tube fills up with light. Whatever result this experiment has, we don't get to see. Mari's eyes open back up. Melody is now right in front of her. Hand pulled back, her entire pink is glowing a shade of red that I didn't even know was possible for a person to achieve.

"How dare you go that far." Melody announced and slapped the waitress. Mari took it, everyone's gaze shifting over to her. "There are reasons why people don't do the very thing you do. Reasons that get people killed and nearly wipe out the entire feet."

Her words rolled out and Mari nodded. Turning her attention to the far end of the room, it's… late. We've gotten a pretty good idea of the Madame Project.

"Agreed." Cinemon remarked and watched everyone get up from the table. Mari's wife got to picking up the plates, making a beeline for the kitchen. Then it's over to Marulyn. "It might be best for you to come with us. Last thing we need is you getting jumped by Yvette."

The elven mage nodded and grabbed hold of her girlfriend's hand. Heading towards the entrance, the rest of the party followed right behind. Outside, the night sky was shining bright. Stars twinkling, almost mocking us over this strange mess of a day.

"Maddie?" Ella inquired and looked to the entrance to the cafe. The door now closed, none of us able to see what was going on with our thief and Mari Gold. After all we've been told, who can really say. Though, I doubt it's any of our business to really hang around and just bu-

"Or you could just open the door." a voice announced, Maddie making their way back out. A large wooden box now in hand, time is taken to walk over to Ella and whisper something to the artificer. Getting a nod in return, it's back to the manor.

* * *

Notes:

Yeah. This was very much not a fun chapter to write. Necessary to the story? Absolutely.

.

Next Time: Ella tries to cheer her girlfriend up. It doesn't really work.


	11. 79: Picking up the Pieces

I don't own digimon.

* * *

The dawn of a new day arrives on Aldia, bringing with it the chance to write the wrongs committed by our predecessors and set the record straight. Or something along those lines. Who can really say with Yvette and the Hathran wandering around causing trouble that we might not even know about. Fuck. Just one more thing to think about as our attention shifts over to Maddie. Having just gotten up from a less than great slumber, the thief had taken the time to get dressed and make sure their whip was on hand. Easy, simple enough things to do while the possibility of being murdered still hangs over your head.

"Thanks for that wonderful bode of confidence." Maddie announced and looked to the box. Even in the light of the manor, there's something… ordinary about it. Whatever Mari Gold decided to give you, I can only wonder what use you of all people would have. For the record, I have no clue what exactly is in that box. Nor will I tell anyone what's in it. Judging by your silence, I'll take that as a no then. Fair enough. Whenever you're ready to tell someone what's in there, be my guest.

Giving me an eyeroll, the thief took the time to stretch. Or would've, if not for the fact that Ella had made her way over. Placing a hand on her girlfriend's back, Maddie turned around. Part of them wasn't expecting this to be the first person to greet them today. No, they expected someone like Bubbles or even Kollmon to show up early and surprise them for one reason or another. But this worked too. Possibly even better in your current situation. If we can really call this situation anything resembling 'good' or nice for that matter.

"How are you holding up?" she inquired, Maddie's gaze already finding its way to the floor. Muttering something to the ground, it's right back over to the artificer. Still wearing the same clothes from before, Ella looked no worse for the wear. Outside of a couple patches of dust hanging across her clothes.

"I didn't really sleep." Maddie answered and rubbed a hand across her eyes. While I don't really see anything there, it looked to have helped. Somewhat. "The only thing going through my head was what Mari Gold told us last night and its implications."

Ella nodded, splitting her gaze between the box and Maddie. Tempted as she was to ask about the box, it was not her place to do that. Her thoughts were elsewhere, fixated on Madame. How could she have been a fool? Searching for an answer, dead ends were all she got. This was a secret shared in solidarity with multiple town members, the kind where most people die before they are even allowed to see anything close to the truth. Even if you do find out, that makes you all the more dangerous. All the more reason to have you end up in a tragic accident bought with the silence of those who remained. Even if one does get a group behind them, that just presents a bigger target for someone like Madame to swoop in and tear apart.

"Same." she answered and reached out for the thief's hand. Grabbing hold, Maddie accepted the gesture. Giving it a tight squeeze, they watched Ella let out a sigh. Inside, the artificer felt conflicted. After all the bad things that Mademoiselle and by extension Mari Gold and her wives did, would talking about some of the 'good' things that Maddie's predecessor did really change that? If anything, it's just a chance to see just how unhinged their mother truly was. That, and all the things looked so nice then now looking absolutely awful "Do you want to hear about your predecessor?"

Maddie looked to the ground, taking the time to compose themself. Then it's right back to looking at Ella. No way of really knowing if the worst things had already been said, any information given could be the key to some level of closure on why exactly things turned out the way they did in those last moments the general public had with Madame von Strauss.

"Go on ahead." the thief remarked, walking over to their bed. Taking a seat, Ella is right behind. Looking to the doorway, there's nothing in the way of Bubbles or their digimon partners to bust in and interrupt the couple.

"She was a kind woman." Ella started, our vision whisked away from this room and to the spot where the Black Cat Inn would one day stand. Right now, children of all kinds have gathered for a show of sorts. A makeshift stage of sorts had been set-up, with what looks to be curtains of all things being held back by what looks to be a pair of maids. Far from the undead state at their passing, this might be some of their last moments in the living world. But young Ella knows nothing about that. No, she's just happy to see her hero in action. Said action being presented in a fashion to imprint upon her the necessary lessons of who Aldia's enemies were. Ironic, considering what had already happened with the orcs. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

"Is everyone ready to see Madame in action?" one of the maids announced, the crowd shouting something. Probably a single word response like 'yes'. Usually, most 'show wizards' (the kind that scam people out of their money) ask for something dumb. Mostly as a way to laugh at the stupidity of some people. Yes, that is a real thing those fuckers think they can get away with and it absolutely pisses me off beyond belief. A story for when we finally get Yvette off our backs and in a place where she can't hurt anyone. "I can't hear you."

Liar. You very clearly heard what they had to say. You just want to demonstrate that you have that level of control over these people. It's kind of sick. The audience still eats this up like it's some kind of divine message from a deity. When in fact it's just some woman who is merely… mortal who is trying her hardest to keep the legend of an immortal shapeshifting thief alive so that the people of Aldia have someone to look up too and keep fighting a battle that very much was never theirs to begin with.

"Good. Let us begin our show." the maid announced, the curtains closing behind her. Stepping off to the side, what sounds like music comes over the small stage. Probably a bard or a group of bards providing this ambience. Good enough for this event, but not much else. The curtains open up once more, a makeshift plain background now front and center on the stage. Standing in front of the background is the titular Madame von Strauss. Wearing the same dress as Maddie, she has the same locks of hair. Look a bit longer than they were when our thief inherited them, but that might be the result of wear and tear. Her whip bounced up against her side, no effort made to make it stop. Odder still was Madame's focus. Jumping about the crowd and surrounding area, she looks… disoriented. Almost as if she's under some kind of spell or was given something to get her to play along.

"Hello children." Madame announced, trying her best to focus on the crowd. Easier said than done. Bringing her whip up, she does a couple swings about the stage. Comes awfully close to striking her own servants. I can only hope they're getting paid extra for this. Last thing any of them want is to get hit in the head and die right on stage. "How are you all doing?"

A variety of shouts echo from the crowd. Most of them are positive. The few that most definitely aren't get drowned out by the louder voices. Even if they somehow weren't, it's very likely she would have ignored them. That's what most of those stage magicians do. Can't let an unhappy person get your entire performance down in the dumps, regardless of the variety of reasons they were feeling that way at the time.

"That's good to hear." Madame continued, whip returning to her side. Stepping forward, she scans the crowd one more time. Eventually, her gaze stopped on one person in particular - Ella. A smile formed on her face, one that feels absolutely alien when compared to Maddie's. Odd as that probably sounds. "Little girl, could you come up on stage for me?"

Ella's eyes lit up. She couldn't even believe what she was hearing with her own ears. No way that the Madame von Strauss had chosen her of all people. Carefully making her way through the crowd of sitting children, all that's left to do is to make the transition from the ground up to the stage. Easier said than done when you're only a foot tall and the people who built this stage decided that this movable venue needed to be a couple feet off the ground. The result was a young dwarven girl trying her best to scamper up and failing. Not enough to hurt herself, but more than enough for it to be clear that someone was going to get a pummeling for making the stage way too high.

"Do you need some help, dear?" Madame called out and lowered her whip down. Ella carefully grabbed hold, finding herself being pulled up to the stage. Now up there, there's so many ways this can go. "Now little girl, would you like to help me with something?"

Ella nodded, the curtains behind the pair getting pulled back. Madame pulled her in, holding her from making any movement. The curtains come back up, revealing a tied up orc. Thrashing about, they don't look too happy. Have every right to be absolutely pissed. Truly wonderful to see bad habits carrying on to the next generation.

"Madame wants you to take her whip and kill this very bad man." Madame explained, handing the weapon over to the child. Ella, I thought you said this was a happy memory of Maddie's mom. This is anything but.

Flushed back out to reality, the artificer nodded. Somehow during all of that, no one dared to enter the room. Or perhaps they saw what was happening and decided it was best to give them space for the moment. I'm going to air on the side of the former here.

"You're right." she whispered and focused on Maddie. Leave it to her to tell what she thought was a happy story, only for it to be anything but. How could she have been that stupid? She should've seen through th-

Maddie pulled their girlfriend in. Pushing her down, lips met lips in a display of passion that resulted from the sheer frustration of the last two days boiling to the surface. I guess there's worse ways to make up to your beloved after telling how you almost killed someone on stage. Can't really think of them at this current moment, but I'll let it slide. Eventually, the couple broke away. Making sure no signs of this romantic gesture had occurred. A bit overzealous. But whatever. Taking time to grab their whip, Maddie and Ella head through. On the other side, we find Kollmon. Diary in hand, I'm going to assume that you too didn't get a go- Yes. I'm very much aware you got a full night's sleep. Even though you were balling your eyes out over that orc. Personally, I would be more concerned if you didn't react and stayed silent.

"Like, morning." the gale mole digimon announced, looking up from Cassandra's diary. Letting out a deep breath, she closed the diary up and looked up at the ceiling. Morning to you too, Kollmon. Greeting now out of the way, her focus swiveled over to her partner. "Have you seen Bubbles, by any chance?"

Maddie and Ella shook their heads. Of all the people who we would expect to come and say morning to you two, he stands at the top of the list. It's almost more surprising that he isn't he- Fuck. I should've seen this coming.

"You know where he is?" Ella remarked and I nod. Oh right. Can't see me. Yeah. You remember how I said the underground chamber had water running in the background. I debated making reference to it as a joke, but decided against it. Last thing we need is someone in an area where we don't know the way of opening. Of course, he took the initiative to go looking anyway. Guess we know who he gets that from.

Maddie rolled their eyes. I kid, of course. Parenting-wise, Bubbles couldn't ask for anyone better to raise him. Outside of Ella.

"You better be." the thief muttered and headed for the stairs. Ella and Kollmon followed right behind, trying their best to not look at the pictures on the walls. Have a far different meaning now that we know what the process was just to create them in the first place. Kind of sickening when you think about it. There was always someone who would jokingly suggest a matter of possession or reincarnation for necromancy matters. But to see someone try it on a level of a whole town across centuries, it's not that funny anymore. Absolutely tragic. And these are all the ones we know about. Entirely possible that we might have more who are unaccounted for, Madame's who never got a chance to have their image painted.

"That just raises the question of who painted them." Ella remarked, Maddie's gaze swiveling over. Catching sight of a painting, they let out a sigh. Looking back over to the artificer, they head over. Another squeeze followed. Whoever this painter is, they would need a long life. Which rules out a human or halfling. Maybe an elf or dwarf, perhaps even a succubus.

"Like, yeah." Kollmon answered and watched her partner head off. Taking the stairs one at a time, she made sure to give them and Maddie a bit of space. Regardless if that was just a step or two as they headed downstairs. At the bottom, Cinemon was waiting patiently. "Any luck?"

The feline dog digimon shook his head. Turning his attention to Ella, he walked over. In return, that got him a pet from the artificer.

"He's definitely down there with Phusitmon." Cinemon remarked, Maddie's attention shifting to the floor. Where could that stupid mechanism be? The first area had been held closed by a bunch of small boards. Had someone gone through the trouble of patching over the floor in the hopes that whoever looking for it would just give up their search and decide to do something else?

Bringing their whip up, they go in for a swing. Decent enough attempt, but not enough power behind the attack to actually make a dent in the floor. Or maybe this is the case of not hitting it on the right spot.

"Would you like some help?" a voice called out, Yvonne taking this moment to head over. No sign of Munbimon, but Marulyn was following right behind. Unchanged from the previous day, the only difference being a touch of sluggishness brought on by a lack of sleep.

"Yes, actually." Maddie answered and pointed to the floor. The knight made her way over to the spot, khakkhara coming out with her approach. Lifting the weapon up, she very carefully stabbed it into the floor. Okay, 'carefully' might have been the wrong word to describe this. Think more… cleanly. Big enough to get someone through, but also loud enough to bring the attention of everyone else in the kitchen over to the entrance.

"Uh… that wasn't my intention." Yvonne announced, clipping the khakkhara to her back. Bending down, she pulled some more of the floor away. Which brought the gaze of a certain little dragon into focus. Giving a wave, he began jumping up and down. We can see you. "Did you find something?"

Bubbles nodded, Phusitmon maneuvering his way around to the front of the little dragon. Letting out a sigh, he tried to make himself taller in the hopes of Yvonne grabbing him. But he's just out of reach for our knight. No, we need to remove a bit more of the floor. Then we should be able to grab both of you.

"Or we could just use my whip." Maddie explained and pulled the weapon from their side. Walking over to the hole, they lowered part of the whip down. Phusitmon grabbed hold, making quick work in climbing his way up. His partner on the other hand, took it a bit slower. Last thing he wanted was to ruin his dress. Speaking of which, the normally blue dress was now covered in a mix of brown and red splotches. I really don't want to know where those came from or what they even are in the first place. Probably going to find out anyway as Bubbles took his first steps of today on the floor. Focusing on Yvonne, a deep breath followed.

"Pieces." the little dragon whispered and ran over to his mothers. Reaching out to Maddie, a hug followed. Ella was right behind, walking to the other side of Bubbles to do the deed. You get what I'm saying… I hope. Breaking away, their attention hung to their child.

"Pieces of what?" Maddie inquired, Bubbles looking away. While I have no way of really knowing what is going on in his head, I think you already know the answer to that question. Definitely not the one you want to hear from a child, let alone your own. No turning back now. "You found the parts of me they took off?

Bubbles nodded, already going in for another hug. Knowing that is great and all, but that just raises further questions in regard to how a 'Madame' is created

"Why even go through the trouble of keeping the discarded parts?" Blaze remarked, Melody's gaze swiveling over to our dancer. Taking the time to compose herself, she made sure she had the attention of everyone currently. Even the digimon. Kind of impressive.

"Due to the nature of the ships… accidents happen." the mystic explained, pulling Lumosmon back down as she spoke. "Sometimes, the 'pieces' left behind can be saved and reused by a crew member. If not, they are reduced to their base elements and recycled."

You know, I take back what I said about wanting to know what you had to say. Just the thought alone of someone having the ability to turn flesh and bones into materials for magic is quite powerful. How the heck do you prevent people from just using it as a tool to just dispose of people they killed for one reason or another?

"The system requires a number of security codes and redundant keys stored as physical material that the machine cannot destroy." Melody continued, focus shifting to Bubbles of all people. Walking over to the little dragon, the mystic bent down to be as close to the little dragon's level as she could get. "Could you tell me what pieces in particular that you found?"

Bubbles nodded.

"Hair and skin." he announced and looked up to Melody. Putting a claw up to his chin, time was taken to make sure that was everything seen. Don't want to have to go back down and see whatever else wonderful things left behind by Mari Gold and the maids. "Orbs."

Orbs? Of all things that could be down there, that feels off. While I'm not going to say what my first thought was, that probably isn't it. Nor is it anywhere close to what this actually is.

"Depends on the size of these orbs." Dave remarked, axe jingling about as he looked to the hole in the floor. "There are parts of a normal human body that are 'orb-shaped' that might be required to be removed. But those are usually very small. I would imagine a halfling's to be really tiny."

Maddie's gaze swiveled over to the maid. Muttering something to the ground, they debated asking for further information. This was the best explanation they had going for this mess currently, even if that did imply that the extent of changes done to their body was far greater than was once thought to be.

"What kind of operations would require these 'orbs' to be removed?" the thief inquired, Dave trying his best to figure out how to explain this. Anything will work here. Long as it doesn't involve the turning of discarded body parts into other materials. One thing to be supplying body parts for spells, but it's another to be using them for things that aren't

"Mostly surgeries for the body's airflow." Dave explained and looked over to the hole. Staring in for a couple seconds, a head shake followed. "But that doesn't explain why they would go through all the trouble."

Yeah. What purpose could they have for that? Matching something to that of previous Madame is… dumb and dangerous.

"Bubbles, was there anything labeled 'Estrogen' or 'Testosterone' down there when you looked?" Kollmon inquired, finding herself faced with a nod. Letting out a deep breath, she got a confused look in return. "Like, please tell me you didn't consume anything that was in those containers… please?"

Phusitmon took a deep breath and made his way back over to his partner.

"He did not." the plush rabbit digimon announced and focused on Kollmon. "Better yet, how did you know that those were down here?"

The gale mole digimon let out a deep breath. Cassandra's journal back on the second floor, she was going to need to wing it.

"Because both of those are used to change a human's body." Kollmon explained and headed over to the door. "I'll tell it on the way."

That's… one way to go about it.

* * *

Notes:

Yeah... this was an interesting chapter to come back too. I'm not going to confirm what those orbs are. Just use your imagination.

.

Next Time: We talk about things.


End file.
